This call comes a month after the government unveiled the main lines of its immigration bill, which must be studied by parliamentarians in 2023 and provides in particular for the creation of a "job in tension" residence permit, for recruit in sectors with labor shortages.
“Our sector, catering, should already be considered to be under recruitment pressure! We have 200,000 unfilled positions and surprisingly, they are not on the list allowing the recruitment of foreign staff. Same thing for the hotel industry (. ..)", protests Thierry Marx in the columns of the JDD.
The sector is indeed facing recruitment difficulties increased by the pandemic and the needs will increase further, according to the media starred chef who was very active and listened to by the public authorities during the health crisis.
"When you are looking for pastry chefs or cooks and you cannot find any in France, you have to look elsewhere," he explains.
"We are asking for a rapid regularization of our foreign employees recognized for their skills and who find themselves immersed in illegality overnight", abounds Thierry Marx in this interview, insisting on this long-standing request from Umih, a union in the head of which he was elected at the end of October.
He denounces in particular the "administrative delays" or suspensions of residence permits without justification and the fragility of certain small businesses in the face of this uncertainty.
"Creating a residence permit for occupations in tension would facilitate the procedures and secure the companies", he adds, highlighting the rapid increase in skills for employees in the sector but also the dependence of others, such as the construction industry. , to foreign employees.
"Confusing security issues with issues of integrating people who do not commit offenses and who are a vital force for companies does not seem to me to be the right method. You know, in the kitchen, mixing everything does not make necessarily a good dish", he concludes.
© 2022 AFP