FEATURE: "It's a bit like being beggars", the rise in the minimum wage fails to convince the affected workers

During a social conference, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu notably promised an increase in the minimum wage beyond inflation from December 1 to try to calm social anger. But this announcement is far from satisfying the unions who are calling for the movement to continue. Minimum wage employees are not convinced either and have the impression that they are being made fun of, as explained by certain employees of GXO Logistics, a Zalando subcontractor, located in Seine-et-Marne.

Also read Increase in the minimum wage, reductions in charges for companies... What to remember from the government's announcements at the end of the social conference The company has 245 employees on permanent contracts and 830 temporary workers, and upon leaving their huge warehouse, the reactions are almost unanimous: "It's little, compared to what we spend each month. A minimum wage is hard, so with 24 euros on top of that, we can't pay our rent, the shopping, the charges correctly", reacts Florine who earns the minimum wage.

This increase, “it’s a joke,” Florent annoys. “Between 1,478 and 1,502, I don’t see the difference.” These 24 euros increase, these employees, who receive the minimum wage, find it “insignificant.

“This word “insignificant” comes up in all exchanges with minimum wage employees who are overdrawn on the 10th of the month. For them, the government is distributing a few crumbs to silence social anger. “They are buying us little by little because they think it will calm the people,” Florine believes.

"It's a bit like we're beggars" Percia, minimum wage worker franceinfo "It's like we're begging, even though we work, get up early in the morning, and have families to feed. In the end, they add 24 euros to us," laments Percia. Florent believes that "the anger is paying off", but that the government's reaction "is not enough.

" Also read Increase in the minimum wage: "We are providing a bad response to a real problem", reacts the president of Medef Patrick Martin Maixence Fouemina, staff representative, this sum "can always make it possible" to do things, "because before that, we had nothing. There, we were still added 24 euros, that can still do the trick. You have to be reasonable and consistent.

When something is added to us, it is always important. “In this company, the unions will also negotiate various bonuses in the coming days, particularly on “Black Friday”.

Machine-translated from French