The flame arrives in Abbeville and the Bay of Somme this Thursday, July 4. Since Friday, waste has not been collected in Abbeville and since Monday in Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. Garbage collectors are protesting against the elimination of increased night hours and overtime.
The garbage collectors’ picket line moved from the dump to the streets of Abbeville on Tuesday, July 2. The garbage collectors organized a slow operation to raise awareness and draw attention to their strike action that began last Friday.
Since that day, they no longer collect the trash and in some places in the city, the waste is already piling up. The cause: the elimination of extended night hours and overtime.
Waste is piling up in Abbeville.
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© Antoine Roynier / FTV
The loss of earnings is significant for the 17 agents concerned.Agents lose around 200 to 400 euros per month, explains a garbage collector from the Abbeville area. They wanted to make themselves heard because negotiations have been taking place for several months, real negotiations have just started a few days ago.“.
Very concretely, “It wasn’t about a bonus, it was about overtime and night shifts.“. To sum up, they wanted the agents to “have compensation because today they find themselves with salaries that go down to minus 400 euros. We are talking about purchasing power“.
This is why he and his colleagues, even those who are not concerned, fight alongside them: “so that they are recognized within the community, so that the community can make up for this lack a little because the end of the month is going to be very difficult for everyone“, he fears.
The garbage collectors are demanding at least a 140 euro increase, compared to the 100 euros proposed by the urban area.
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© Antoine Roynier / FTV
On Monday, July 2, negotiations took place with management. The latter only offered 80 euros, then 100 euros for all employees, considered insufficient for the garbage collectors who are asking for at least 140.That’s a loss of 2,600 euros per year and you should know that for everything that is night time, the minimum that agents lose is between 1,600 and 1,900 euros.“, notes Benoît Boulart, garbage collector driver for the Abbeville area.
He points out that salaries are already “very low. We are in one of the waste disposal sites that earns the least. When you go to Veolia, for example, it is 1,800 euros per month when you arrive“. Here, however, even after “28-30 ans” seniority, remuneration increases “at 1,900 euros, including premium“.
It is a small reminder of the Olympic flame that must pass. We should normally see the best face of Abbeville, that is to say with happy agents, with residents happy to welcome this Olympic flame. Today, we are far from that.
Jérôme Corbillon, garbage collector for the Abbeville area
Benoît Boulart believes that the passage of the flame “will be complicated“and he goes”There are going to be problems, that’s for sure. The guys don’t care anymore, they’re totally fed up“.
And when asked why there are few trash cans on the streets despite their strike action, he explains: “People have been warned not to put out their trash“According to the garbage driver, the residents of Abbeville understand their anger, some”gave us money for a quest“.
Garbage collectors are ready to continue their strike.
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© Antoine Roynier / FTV
For his part, Robert Debray, community advisor in charge of waste, says that management is ready to review the situation. “Perhaps we could also backtrack on this subject, we could come back to the suppression from July for example.” he suggests.
He also claims that these bonuses were “benefits that employees had“, but which were not regular. That is why they were deleted.”It’s not for the pleasure of taking anything away from them, it’s simply because it wasn’t regular.“.
We have entered into negotiations to try to compensate, but for the moment, we have not been able to agree on the benefits they have lost and what we are offering them.
Robert Debray, community advisor in charge of waste
For example, if we take the night time that employees received between 5 and 6 a.m., “It was not a night hour, but an additional hour. The cost is not the same. So it is true that it is a reduction for them“As for the overtime they were previously receiving, it has been transformed into hours to be recovered.
“We still have a financial problem that is significant, it is not new. The Court of Auditors has reported major irregularities, even at the level of the management of the waste disposal service. So it was necessary to review all these things noted“.
We were on the verge of being placed under receivership, we must not forget that. So the general management, including the president, had the obligation to straighten out the finances. We did not succeed, but we are working on the subject.
Robert Debray, community advisor in charge of waste
The deputy is aware that there could be mobilizations in the coming days and says he is open to other negotiations. For the moment, there is no fixed cost.
The Abbeville recycling center therefore remains closed. Those of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme and Cayeux-sur-Mer have also been closed since Monday. There are no new negotiations planned for the moment while this Thursday, the Olympic flame will pass through the Bay of Somme and Abbeville.
With Grégoire Alcalay / FTV
