Paris Apple staff may go on strike

[HoneySuckleDreams]

http://www.france24.com/en/20120920-french-apple-store-workers-threaten-strike-iphone-5-launch-paris-employment-huffington-post-

Reading this article a few things struck me:

Surely when you accept a job you are accepting the conditions of the job as well. The employees knew the rules and trying to change them later is a bit rich.

Is the "13th month" still prevelant?

I like the comment: Apple [sic] is trying hard to adapt to French working culture. [:-))]

Surely "Apple suicide"  is Cidrecide?

 

 

[Alex H]

[quote user="HoneySuckleDreams"]

Surely "Apple suicide"  is Cidrecide?

 

 

[/quote]

Pommecide? [8-)]

[Quillan]

Given they earn 1,300 per month for 25 hours work (according to the article) that's around 52 Euros per hour, not bad really. It's more than the hourly rate of an IT Project Manager in Paris (about 38 Euros per hour). Lets face it if you believe the hype about Apple products all they have to do is stand there and shove box's in to bags and take the money, there's no actual sale effort required. With regards to the "13th Month" well I put this on a par with the bankers in the UK for which many in this forum and even more in the UK press said should be paid on exception results above the target. These people are demanding money, just as the bankers did, for doing their normal work. As to 'meal vouchers' well in the private sector in the rest of the world with the current economic problems have all but disappeared these days. My attitude towards them is the same as I had when the BA staff who went on strike, tough, don't like it well leave. There's plenty more who would be happy to work for that money and conditions. As for searching people and their bags, well all the bags are searched in supermarkets round here, workers and customers alike.

[Rabbie]

[quote user="Quillan"]Given they earn 1,300 per month for 25 hours work (according to the article) that's around 52 Euros per hour, not bad really. It's more than the hourly rate of an IT Project Manager in Paris (about 38 Euros per hour). Lets face it if you believe the hype about Apple products all they have to do is stand there and shove box's in to bags and take the money, there's no actual sale effort required. With regards to the "13th Month" well I put this on a par with the bankers in the UK for which many in this forum and even more in the UK press said should be paid on exception results above the target. These people are demanding money, just as the bankers did, for doing their normal work. As to 'meal vouchers' well in the private sector in the rest of the world with the current economic problems have all but disappeared these days. My attitude towards them is the same as I had when the BA staff who went on strike, tough, don't like it well leave. There's plenty more who would be happy to work for that money and conditions. As for searching people and their bags, well all the bags are searched in supermarkets round here, workers and customers alike.[/quote]They don't do 25 hour/month, they do a 25 hour week so their hourly rate is just under €13/hour so it's not so well paid as all that.

 

[Quillan]

Don't know what came over me, senior moment perhaps, of course you are quite correct, sorry about that.

[Rabbie]

No Probs, I have them myself[:)]. In fact nearly made the same error.

[Frederick]

They dont even come and ask you what you want in Apple shops when you go in ... You enter the shop find a pad that nobody is using .. Enter a request to be seen and it tells you the name of the person who will come to the pad and talk to you and the time you have to wait for the person to turn up.. If anybody should dare to  approach a member of the sale staff and ask for anything they will soon be told they are dealing with a customer and to return to the pad station and wait for the designated representitive to come . I got so fed up waiting in an Apple shop for an Ipad I went toTesco and bought one ... Apple shiops want a kick up the ar*e

[Chancer]

Is the 13th month still prevalent?

You bet it is amongst the dinosaurs with (for the moment at least) protected jobs that have yet to face the reality of the real world, its even a boasting point, several people have told me that they dont just get a 13th month but a 14th one as well, a guy at a party last weekend was telling me just how much money he makes from Sanef, how he gets paid something silly like a 2700% prime if he has to start work 30 minutes early or finish 30 minutes late, several hundred euros allowance for cleaning of uniform (which they supply) and loads of others. I can only recall a fraction of what he was hoping to impress me with (he chose the wrong victim) but he definitely got the 14th month.

I find it all very distastefull, its the closest French equivalent to "I am considerably richer than you" but worse in fact as in most cases they havnt achieved it through hard grind and are confident that the situation will never change, in turn it encourages other syndicalistes to make more and more outlandish claims for the same, I can recall several strikes in recent years where they have been claiming a 14th month.

Friends tell me about the old France before the communist and socialist governments, how few paid holidays workers got, no health service, no social security system etc, it was really grim and not that many years ago in fact, they say that things had to change (and I agree) but thay have gone way far too far in some instances and the trend continues.

[Rabbie]

Not uncommon that the pendulum of politics swings too far when correcting a flawed system. It seems to be an unwritten law that we go from one extreme to the other and rarely seem to find the happy medium.

[YCCMB]

[quote user="Frederick"]They dont even come and ask you what you want in Apple shops when you go in ... You enter the shop find a pad that nobody is using .. Enter a request to be seen and it tells you the name of the person who will come to the pad and talk to you and the time you have to wait for the person to turn up.. If anybody should dare to  approach a member of the sale staff and ask for anything they will soon be told they are dealing with a customer and to return to the pad station and wait for the designated representitive to come . I got so fed up waiting in an Apple shop for an Ipad I went toTesco and bought one ... Apple shiops want a kick up the ar*e

[/quote]

ON the plus side, you can, as I did, walk into an Apple shop (in this case in Manhattan) and spend as long as you like using their Wifi without anyone at all troubling you...

[Quillan]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Is the 13th month still prevalent?

You bet it is amongst the dinosaurs with (for the moment at least) protected jobs that have yet to face the reality of the real world, its even a boasting point, several people have told me that they dont just get a 13th month but a 14th one as well, a guy at a party last weekend was telling me just how much money he makes from Sanef, how he gets paid something silly like a 2700% prime if he has to start work 30 minutes early or finish 30 minutes late, several hundred euros allowance for cleaning of uniform (which they supply) and loads of others. I can only recall a fraction of what he was hoping to impress me with (he chose the wrong victim) but he definitely got the 14th month.

I find it all very distastefull, its the closest French equivalent to "I am considerably richer than you" but worse in fact as in most cases they havnt achieved it through hard grind and are confident that the situation will never change, in turn it encourages other syndicalistes to make more and more outlandish claims for the same, I can recall several strikes in recent years where they have been claiming a 14th month.

Friends tell me about the old France before the communist and socialist governments, how few paid holidays workers got, no health service, no social security system etc, it was really grim and not that many years ago in fact, they say that things had to change (and I agree) but thay have gone way far too far in some instances and the trend continues.

[/quote]

We had two couples stay this year just for the night with evening meals. Both the men worked for EDF of whom I have heard many stories about so took the opportunity to ask somebody who actually worked for them.

Firstly the reason they were only staying a night was because they were on their way to their "CMCAS EDF Centre holiday village" where they holiday for some silly price like 10 Euros per day. They also only pay 10% of their EDF and GDF bill each year. These two perks are for life. There were loads more like you have described, for instance the uniforms, two or more issued per year dependant of the type of work and an allowance to wash them. If you work outside you retire when your 55 or 50 if you work with really high voltage on a very good pension. No private business could afford these type of perks in today's climate but EDF just can't afford the industrial dispute if they attempted to remove them. Perhaps Hollande could try taxing these benefits in kind like he does cars, mobile phones etc in the private sector.

[YCCMB]

Funnily enough, only this morning I've been working with a client who recently acquired a French and a Spanish car hire company. How we laughed, as they described how their staff benefits included 10 days free car hire a year for all staff, and 15 days at 10 euros a day for any friends and family (which, as they pointed out, means more or less anyone ), AND a €40K PER YEAR interest free loan for staff!!!!! That's on top of 13th month and so on!!! Wonder why the companies in question were ripe for takeover??

[Quillan]

Actually there is at least one major Booking website on which many hotels and B&B's advertise on worldwide. Part of your contract is to allocate days where you will accept their employees free at your establishment. You can of course put '0' days if you wish but you will loose any advantage you have over your nearest rival should they also be on the website. This came out during a 'one to one' when their representative came to visit us but it was completely off the record and would be vigorously denied. I obviously can't mention the company by name. [;-)]

[nomoss]

Many people in Spain receive "14 months" pay per year, that is, double the amount of other months for both July and December.

However, this doesn't mean they get paid more. Employers have the choice of dividing the annual salary into either 12 or 14 increments, and can decide this in discussion with the employee, as I did.

Many people prefer to receive a larger payment for the Summer holiday and before Christmas (which begins on Jan 6 in Spain).

Our spanish pensions are paid in the same way, and we are very pleased to get the double amount when it arrives, as we never quite expect it [:)]

Could it be the same situation exists/existed in France?

 

Chancer, do you think the guy who "boasted" at getting 13 or 14 months' pay per year could just have been winding you up?[:D]

[Chancer]

No because I have known him very well for over 7 years, some of others including some family members speak badly of him behind his back through jealousy which I cant stand, Sanef where he works is well known for golden terms and that is in an area where the 13th month is taken for granted.

Quillan reminded me about the paid and massively subsidised holidays via the comite d'enterprise, I believe they also have their own colony de vacances, all of his extended family get free autoroute travel across the whole road system.