In front of the headquarters of Orpea, the employees in "fight against these money boxes"

• Tuesday morning, in front of the headquarters of Orpea in La Défense, employees gathered to demonstrate against the working conditions of the group.

• The private group managing nursing homes and retirement homes is accused of "doing everything to increase profits", in particular by rationing food.

• The management of the company is also singled out, FO denouncing "institutionalized union repression".

An incident almost compromised everything.

Tuesday morning, rue Jean-Jaurès in Puteaux, a man affixes a CGT sticker on a Lamborghini Aventador (or similar model).

Exasperated, the driver opens his butterfly doors to shout at the facetious.

A scandal fortunately without consequence on the continuation of this social mobilization in front of the headquarters of Orpea.

At the call of several trade unions, around a hundred employees of this private group of retirement homes and nursing homes singled out by the book

by Victor Castanet, but also other players in the sector such as Korian or public nursing homes

, have come to hold their companies accountable.

The federation was present this morning in front of the headquarters of Orpéa with the Belgian, German and Epsu comrades.

@EPSUnions @CgtSanteSocial pic.twitter.com/VoEfi6pxzF

– CGT Health Social Action (@CgtSanteSocial) March 8, 2022

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“Social Security money must go to the well-treatment of residents and employees, not to shareholders, and the opposite is happening,” denounces the first speaker, posted behind a banner, microphone in hand.

For her, “it is time for the public authorities and the government to act”.

Following him, several union representatives intervened to denounce the same difficult working conditions and the priority given to profitability rather than to the care of residents.

"Let's continue our fight against these money boxes", urges a SUD-Solidaires representative.

Union across borders

Jan Willem Goudriaan, General Secretary of the European Federation of Public Service Unions, recalls that “the battle to improve working conditions and the quality of public services” is also European before chanting “All together!

echoed by the crowd.

Moreover, a delegation of Orpea employees from Bremen (Germany) made the trip to support the French mobilization and ensure that “we are fighting the same fight”.

Unfortunately, a microphone failure cut off the harangue of the German delegate.

There are no more batteries and even Albert, called to the rescue, can't help it.

During this dead time, a small group is debating the use of the terms pain au chocolat/chocolatine.

The union member from across the Rhine resumes his speech although it is almost inaudible.

Fortunately, the microphone returns in time to hear him shout “Long live international solidarity”.

Which is not an empty word since the microphone arrives in the hands of a representative of the Belgian union SETCa-FGTB who wants to "put people back at the heart of this company".

But the microphone is acting up again.

The activists then sing a “Korian, Orpea, same fight, all rotten!”

".

Of song, it is also question with the other Belgian delegation, that of the CNE, which takes again

of Joe Dassin by modifying the lyrics.

A festive atmosphere that does not make us forget a particularly tense social situation.

“Everything is done to increase profits”

"It's going very badly at Orpea, testifies Aline *, caregiver since 2011 and elected to the CSE.

At first we believed in oversights but it is consciously done.

“Everything is done to increase profits,” she denounces, highlighting the rationing of residents.

“If a resident drops his slice of butter, we can't give him another one.

“Orpea cuts soups with protein powder to lower the price,” agrees Franck Houlgatte, secretary general of the national union of FO private health unions.

“We have 4.20 euros in material cost for a day for a resident, which includes breakfast, lunch, snack and evening meal.

When we are in this logic, at 4.20 euros to make these four meals, we have to count the crackers”, explains Guillaume,

These accounting logics produce perverse and insidious effects, continues the former employee.

“Depending on the sliders that we will give you for objectives to achieve, you come to a point where you become an abuser.

"We are no longer human beings, we are robots", support Belgian employees of Orpea, up at 4 am to come and lend a hand to their French colleagues.

“The number comes first and the residents are 'core business' as they call it.

“During the first visits, it looks like Club Med, but afterwards the residents become disillusioned,” says Aline.

“It goes beyond food, it's the lack of staff to clean the toilets, for example.

At the end of the day, we end up with human catastrophes,” says Guillaume in despair.

Our file on the Orpea case

But “as soon as we start complaining about the lack of staff, it's the door, points out Franck Houlgatte.

We have big problems getting testimonials because people are afraid.

There is institutionalized union repression at Orpea.

“I underwent this pressure, it is not something that is quantifiable or traceable, it is something much more diffuse, it is over the long term, these are small annoyances, testifies the former chef.

We come to situations, over the years, where we crack.

I

and had to leave the company because I couldn't work there anymore.

Aline is still there and claims to have “been threatened with dismissal.

They're sharks and I'm just a little fish.

»

*Name has been changed

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• Society

• Retirement home

• Puteaux

• Orpea case

• nursing home

• Paris

• Defense

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