for the first time, workers in a construction company go on strike

For the first time, workers at the construction company Appli, located in Amiens, are on strike. They demand a salary increase, but above all, better working conditions and less pressure.

There were around twenty of them in front of the Appli warehouse in the industrial zone of Amiens Nord since 7:30 a.m. this Friday, December 20. They thought they could strike in the warehouse, sheltered from the cold, but they have just discovered that they will have to do it outside. It's the law.

It's their first strike so, they didn't know it. None of them were even unionized until then. However, some have worked here for fifteen years. They deplore working conditions which, according to them, are increasingly deteriorating: “It's been like this especially for three or four years. They ask us for more and more projects and then in the morning, it's: 'get off your ass'“, says Rémy, staff representative. Everyone has only one word on their lips: respect.

“Most people are afraid because they know that what we do today, they will make us pay for tomorrow. They say that our bonuses are the only indicator they have to tell us if it's good or not“, explains an employee who wishes to remain anonymous, like most of them. While answering questions, he scans the surroundings: “There are cameras everywhere here, I have to be careful. They're putting pressure on me at the moment. I went from the beautiful construction sites of Amiens to the rotten construction sites at the other end of Picardy every day. I feel like I'm next on the list to be laid off“.

Although employees complain of “too small premiums paid at the head of the customer“, Xavier Pruvot, the director of the company, says the opposite. “The value sharing bonus is the same for everyone. It was €175 in December. They also have a half-yearly individual production bonus decided according to the hours gained or lost on each site. And then, there are no minimum wage workers here. They all receive more than €2,000 gross per month. (…) [ndlr, environ 1 580 € net] I think they need a lot of teaching. They take stuff from social media and throw it in your face“, he explains, exasperated.

According to him, staff salaries have increased by 10% on average over the last three years. This is a statement that the strikers completely refute: “I've been here for ten years and I haven't had a salary increase since. Worse, they even hire new ones at a discount“, testifies an employee.

It's especially a “pression“to end quickly as the workers complain in front of the picket line.”Sometimes we find ourselves faced with unforeseen events, problems on the walls when we arrive, but it's up to us to compensate and manage to do so quickly. And then, we're supposed to finish at 4:30 p.m. but if we really leave at that time, they call us screaming. What we want is to start on time and finish on time.“.

These time slots are extended by transport times which would not be counted in the employees' working time, which describe time ranges that are too wide and poorly counted: “If they respect us, we will stop the strike. But, we start at 8 a.m. and at 7:30 a.m., they are already shouting at us to get out“says an employee.”Sometimes, we go to work on a project at the Belgian border, we drive 1 hour 45 minutes and we are only compensated €15, even though we leave very early and don't return before 8 p.m. And then, we only have 45 minutes to eat“, adds his colleague. “They talk a lot about safety, but it also puts us in danger to work so many hours and so many roads.“.

There are a lot of communication problems and then we have misunderstandings around the cost of living.

Xavier Pruvot, Director of Appli

For management, these are situations that never arise: “90% of construction sites are less than 100 km away and 90% of them return before 5 p.m. They have a maximum of 1 hour of driving otherwise it is a big trip which is done solely on a voluntary basis and they sleep. I manage so that they can do this over four days. All of this is social progress“, assures the business manager, who assumes the cost of accommodation in this case.

“We're an old house and it's the first time we've had a picket even though we've never done so much social work. There are a lot of communication problems and then we have misunderstandings around the cost of living. What we hear almost everywhere in France, I have the same thing in my company“, adds Xavier Pruvot.

For Alain Vanest, general secretary of the CGT for the northern industrial zone of Amiens, the company would not be in compliance with the law. “There are no individual annual interviews and no mileage expenses.“, he reveals while a painter brandishes his invoices. “I pay €140 for transport since I live in Compiègne and when I asked them to reimburse me for half of my train subscription, they told me that it was my problem and that no one had asked me to move“.

Xavier Pruvot refutes his remarks. He claims to have carried out all the necessary individual interviews with his employees and considers that transport costs between home and work are the responsibility of the employees: “Reimbursement of 50% of transport costs depends on collective agreements“.

At the end of the negotiations, nothing was done. The strikers say they are ready to continue until they obtain compensation for their travel hours, a benefit bonus and a 13th month. A new renewable strike action is planned from January 6.