Crous strike in Toulouse: some university restaurants closed
“Attention, due to a strike movement on October 18, 2021, the functioning of catering structures is disrupted”, could be read on the website of the Crous de Toulouse Occitanie. Indeed, according to information from France 3 Occitanie, several university restaurants, at Rangueil, at Mirail, at Paul Sabatier or even at Labège, were closed on October 18.
The agents of the Crous (Regional Center for University and School Works) Toulouse responded to the national call for an indefinite strike launched by the CGT. According to strike notice filed on October 1, the unions denounce “degraded working conditions (unsuitable premises, obsolete equipment, management by terror) and a lack of personnel and resources “.
Working at Crous today, “it’s modern slavery”, assures an elected woman from Toulouse
“The catering staff is exhausted”, assures Ouahida Noui, CGT regional secretary of the Toulouse Crous at The Independent Opinion. “The average age is 50 years and over, and with the meal at 1 euro, there are a lot of students who come but without having the equivalent staff to welcome them”. In addition, there is, according to her, “a versatility too accumulates and therefore an overload of work. It is modern slavery”.
Among the problems encountered by the CGT union: wages that are too low and stagnant. According to the trade unionist, “on average, a CROUS staff with a 25-year career only receives 1,300 euros net per month, and the index point does not budge”. The union therefore calls for an increase in staff salaries, but also long-term fixed-term contracts and better recognition of staff.
The other problem also by the CGT regional secretary of the Toulouse Crous concerned the outsourcing of services. “You should know that in all the Crous, the night watchmen, very close to the students, have been replaced as they go into retirement by surveillance agents who are never the same”, explains Ouahida Noui. “They therefore have no connection with the residents.”
End of the strike on Tuesday, October 19
However, the trade unionist explains that the strike will not be renewed the following days. Indeed, the mobilization allowed the CGT to be received on Monday, October 18 by the management of the Toulouse Crous to consider solutions to end the crisis. “She listened to us, she was attentive and gave us explanations. Promises were made”, assures Ouahida Noui.
Among them, the establishment of staff on fixed-term contracts for more than one year and support through a training system for people wishing to become civil servants. But the general manager of Crous de Toulouse, Dominique Froment, also promised to think about putting a stop to the outsourcing of household services, which makes the profession precarious, and to supervise and offer promotions to agents already impacted by externalization.