Since Saturday, July 26, twelve of the thirteen employees of Big house, at Hope Estate, have stopped work. The claims, carried by two spokespersons, touch on both working conditions, remuneration and the internal organization of the brand. After a first strike in June 2024 which had allowed the obtaining of a 13th month, the tension persists.
“We’re all mobilizing because it’s been building up for months,” explains Laurence, one of the spokespeople. “The working conditions are not at all optimal, we don’t have the necessary equipment, the little we have is often broken, rarely repaired.” The employees are also denouncing the maintenance at SMIC despite seniority, a lack of bonuses or recognition, and management that they consider to be deficient: “They do not take into account acquired skills and experience.”
A malaise aggravated by the lack of direction
The prolonged absence of a director for four months, following a sick leave, has crystallized the malaise. “We are peaceful, we try to make things happen coherently, but they refuse to negotiate,” says Laurence. The employees also reject the proposed negotiation terms during the strike : “They want to impose conditions for closed-door negotiations on us, even though we are a group. The law allows us all to go up; there are two of us talking, but we want everyone to hear the negotiations.”
A management open to dialogue and progress already made
On site since Monday July 28, the Group HR Director, Ms. Filin, said she was surprised to discover the situation. “Dialogue has been open since my arrival, but apparently they don’t want to talk, at least not under business conditions.” She said she received the list of grievances "I'll let them decide who to choose for the negotiations.. I always recommend two people because there are two colleges. We have received each point, and some are a great surprise for us".
On the management side, however, certain subjects have already been dealt with: “The Restaurant tickets, dining chits, meal tickets were signed in July. The salary increases also, they do not respond to the increase that they wanted but it was accepted via the CSE (social and economic committee Editor's note). She also states that "elements such as the intervention of air conditioning were already planned well before the strike."
Regarding the lack of on-site management, Ms. Filin mentioned a long illness of the director and a Acting that didn't work: “It wasn't a success from a personality point of view. A new replacement will take up his duties in August and a full-time director in September".
A conflict still open
Despite the call for dialogue, the standoff continued on Tuesday, July 29. Employees plan to extend their mobilization to the public and customers to make their voices heard. Re-establish effective dialogue and a relationship of trust now seems essential to hope for a way out of the crisis at Grand Maison. _Vx
See also: https://www.faxinfo.fr/bricolage-decoration-ouverture-du-magasin-grand-mason-a-hope-estate/
https://faxinfo.fr/en/social-greve-a-grand-maison-le-dialogue-reste-suspendu/
