In Paris, Russian and Ukrainian refugees on strike against the tourism company which employs them without a contract – Libération

Ukrainian refugees in FrancedossierSince October 23, five employees of a bicycle tourist guide company, refugees in France, have launched a strike to demand regularization of their contractual situation. Management refuses any agreement, and would not hesitate to make threats.

For more than two weeks, they have no longer mounted their bikes and no longer roamed the Parisian streets followed by hordes of tourists. The majority of employees of the guided bicycle tour company Orange Fox Bikes – all Russian or Ukrainian refugees – have set foot on land, with only one condition to get back on the saddle: “Simple compliance with French legislation, with respect for a minimum wage and the signing of an employment contract, says Bogdan, one of the striking employees. Minimalist demands that we have been calling for for weeks, in vain.” Of the seven employees of the company created in the spring, five are now on strike.

An “unrealistic” employment contract according to the company

The leader of the mobilization, who arrived in France in the summer of 2023 after fleeing Russia, begins: “We earn on average between 20 and 30 euros for three hours of cycling. The amount depends on the number of clients we take care of: the more there are, the more money we earn, but it is always limited to 40 euros maximum if we take care of more than twenty of tourists.” Payments are made in cash, outside of any employment contract, which Bogdan has never stopped demanding.

“The company told us that our demands were impossible and unrealistic. They offered us fixed-term contracts of twenty hours per month. he gets annoyed. A proposal that he immediately rejected, just like the entire “his team of strikers”, since “this meant working five hours a week legally, and continuing the rest of the time to do hidden work.” The idea of ​​a strike, “which was already in the air”, then comes to fruition on October 23. A demonstration in front of the company’s premises, a few steps from the Paris Stock Exchange (2nd arrondissement), is also organized on October 31.

Elizaveta, a Russian immigrant who arrived in France a few months ago, has also been mobilizing for weeks for this regularization: presenting an employment contract and a pay slip is “essential so that [s]is visa soit garanti». Without obtaining these documents, the woman who is also a literature professor fears she will not be able to stay on French territory. “Other strikers are also in the same situation,” she laments.

The company refuses any negotiations

But on the business side, “nothing has changed since the start of the strike”, regrets Bogdan. “The company has stopped all negotiations with us. On Tuesday, November 5, the labor inspectorate visited them, I hope that this pressure will help speed up the negotiations. he adds. Contacted by LiberationOrange Fox Bikes, which offers tourist tours in the main European cities, categorically refuses to answer our questions. Near the Parisian However, the manager of the Paris subsidiary explains that she does not have enough customers to respond to the complaints of her striking employees. “We lost a lot of money. If the strike continues, I think we will have to close the company. she also tries to justify herself. An argument defeated by the strikers: with at least fifteen tourists per tour each paying 40 euros per visit, the company seems to benefit from enough liquidity to employ them legally.

And while collective negotiations are at a standstill, Elizaveta also regrets the “dark maneuvers” of the company, which take the form of «menaces». “The manager of the company told us that we were all going to be deported to Russia, that we were going to be sentenced for refusing to go to the front, and he even threatened to send groups of Chechens to our pursuit”, she explains, while confiding that she is “scared” for his family. However, she wants to continue fighting until the end – and therefore until the contract – «pour [s]are rights”, and above all «pour [s]we honor.”

Since October 25, the CGT has also been providing its “logistical support” to the five striking employees, which includes a strike fund. “We are going to support them legally so that they can fight against this company which goes under the radar of any form of control,” supports Rémy Frey, assistant secretary at the CGT trade and services union in Paris. Solidarity, according to him, is essential, because “all these employees are in a precarious situation”, while the “strike is set to last”.

Alexey, another employee who got off his bike, confirmed for his part that he was “ready to strike until the end, no matter how long it takes.” This Russian anti-war activist, who benefits from political asylum in France, is not afraid to fight for his rights. He concludes: “The company’s leaders thought we couldn’t defend ourselves, that we would give up. They were very surprised to see our determination.” Alexey promises other events in the days to come, always with only one word in his mouth: “A contract.”