Mélina Facchin 06h13, October 18, 2022

Inflation is on everyone's mind.

And while prices are rising, wages remain desperately at the same level.

And for good reason, many companies, especially the smallest, are crushed by price increases.

But, in some of them, the bosses are trying to find solutions to improve remuneration.

While the "march against the high cost of living" was organized this weekend and a general strike is taking shape to demand better wages, companies, especially the smallest ones, are often struggling to increase their employees.

Their costs have exploded, the price of raw materials too.

But some bosses are still trying to find solutions.

In the restaurant-tea room "Suzanne", in Strasbourg, bonuses are put in place and more overtime is authorized.

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"The raw material explodes!"

In his restaurant-tea room "Suzanne", Samuel Alizadeh hears a lot about the question of wages at the moment.

"Employees came to see me again last week to tell me that inflation is more and more important, purchasing power is more and more complicated to manage," he confirms.

Samuel Alizadeh employs about twenty people and it is simply impossible to increase them at the moment.

"The raw material is exploding: flour, everything dairy, eggs... On average, it's a 30% increase," he explains.

"We can't make crazy margins either, because customers still have to be able to buy our products. And it's the energy that weighs us down the most and scares us the most," adds- he.

More overtime

So to try to help his employees anyway, this boss will set up one-off bonuses.

And instead of resorting to extras, it allows those who wish to do more overtime.

"You have to work harder to get a little bit more!" Says Sergio, a server.

"For example, today I started at 7.30 a.m. and finished at 7 p.m. when normally I should finish at 3 p.m. This allows me to earn 400 euros more per month," he calculates.

Overtime paid monthly.

These extended hours leave him only one day off per week, Sunday.

Sometimes Sergio even works in another restaurant in the evening, to make ends meet.

He thus spends less time with his son, but "it's the price to pay", he says.