Strike at the Sixth: first negotiations deemed too timid for employees

A third meeting was held, this Monday, July 24, at the departmental hotel between the employees of Sesta (Service for the management of tourist sites Ariège), responsible for nine tourist sites in Ariège, the president of the departmental council, Christine Téqui, as well as the president of Sesta, Raymond Berdou, and its director, Laurent Subra.

Their objective: to present the criteria and methods of applying the salary increase decided following in particular the strike of around twenty employees of the Sixth, on Monday 17 July, in front of the castle of Foix then two meetings held on the same day and on July 20 to recall the financial autonomy of the Sixth, and to define an additional budget allocation to support the purchasing power of staff.

On 24 July, the councilorship therefore proposed to the hundred permanent and seasonal employees, with retroactive effect to 1 June 2023, an increase of 115 euros net on average per month, which would translate in particular into an initial increase of 54,000 euros net per year, corresponding to the salary grid. This should be finalized on August 9th.

But also from a second endowment of 50,000 euros net per year in order to enhance the work of the staff and increase salaries “beyond what is provided for in the salary grid of the agreement”, specifies the president of the departmental council.

An increase of 300 euros considered impossible

It is now up to the staff to distribute this sum according to seniority criteria or equally. This second envelope should, for its part, enter into force on 12 September.

Proposals that do not convince the strikers who demand an increase of 300 euros net per month. “It’s not at all what we started with, it’s a bit light,” expresses Anne Sophie Gimeno, member of the CGT Sesta, who intends to meet other employees this Wednesday July 26 on this matter and decide on the continuation of the movement.

But the president of the departmental council is categorical: they will not be able to go any further. “An increase of 300 euros net per month on all salaries would jeopardize the financial equilibrium of the structure’s budget,” he assures. Especially since this salary increase, however considered legitimate by the Sixth, requires “to increase the price of the entrance ticket by at least 5% for visitors to certain sites”, as indicated by Raymond Berdou, for whom the main objective is to remain accessible to as many people as possible.

Faced with certain comments, Christine Téqui is also keen to clarify: “Everyone looks insistently at the Sesta reserve. But it serves to remunerate agents in bad years, above all when there is work in certain places”.