Paris (AFP)

"Badly paid, not recognized, but always on the front": thousands of health and social action professionals gathered Thursday to denounce their working conditions and demand wage increases, noted journalists from the AFP.

In Paris, hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Health, waving placards: "Our fight, your health", "Increase our salaries!", "Money for the hospital, not for the capital".

"In our establishments we are sorely lacking in professionals" and we link "the question of employment to the attractiveness of our professions and therefore to the salary question, it is important that there be a higher revaluation than that granted in part of Ségur, "said among the demonstrators Mireille Stivala, secretary general of the CGT Health and social action.

"We also denounce that despite the pandemic, despite the difficulties in accommodating the populations, this government is still restructuring establishments and cutting jobs," she added.

There is the "need" to offer "dignified" working conditions to "all social, medico-social, health, and animation workers", "we are baited with 183 euros of Ségur but, when you scratch a little, you have the impression of reading an insurance contract with a whole lot of things that mean that we are not entitled to it ", lamented Ramon Vila, Federal Secretary for South Health social workers, specialized educator by training.

Within the framework of Ségur, a "salary increase" of 183 euros net minimum was proposed to the staff of the hospital and nursing homes, "and the medico-social dances in front of the buffet", we were "forgotten" while " we have equal degrees ", pointed out Juliette Bernard, health manager in a specialized reception center in Chambéry.

"We have never seen in the hospital public service a difference in treatment of the same professionals," said at his side, Marylise Baud, also health executive.

In Marseille, several thousand demonstrators, according to the CGT, also demonstrated waving signs "no euros, no job" or "which sows misery harvests anger".

"There are three emergencies for us: salaries, the number of beds and hiring (...) We need 400,000 job creations, 100,000 in the hospital, 200,000 in nursing homes and the rest in the medico-social and social. There is growing suffering, "regretted to AFP Cédrid Volait, regional coordinator of the CGT Health.

© 2021 AFP