Hotel giant forces unbearable breakneck pace on its housekeepers, for a
meager salary barely allowing them to keep a roof over their heads.
But these courageous women are fighting back!
Tell this hotel behemoth to hire them as core staff and treat them with
the respect and dignity they’ve earned.
[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition
John,
17 minutes. That’s how little time this Ibis hotel gives to its
housekeepers to: ventilate a room, pick up trash, change linens, scrub the
bathroom, the toilets, make the bed, dust, vacuum, mop and vacuum again.
All that, 14 to 34 times a day, for a meager salary that barely allows
them to put food on the table.
It’s intolerable. Their back hurt, their feet hurt, their knees hurt, and
many suffer chronic injuries. That’s why they’ve been picketing for better
working conditions for the past 20 months.
One person can put an end to this inhumane situation: it’s Cédric Durand,
COO for AccorInvest, which owns this Ibis hotel. AccorInvest refuses
decent working conditions to the Black women workers allowing proper
operation of the hotel. This needs to change!
[ [link removed] ]Demand Cédric Durand to fully integrate these courageous workers to the
hotel staff.
AccorInvest tries to wash its hands of the situation by arguing that these
women work for STN, a subcontractor. Thus, these hardworking women ask to
be fully integrated into the hotel staff and be treated like any other
employees.
Ibis, brand of the Accor group -- European leader of the sector and third
largest hotel group in the world which owns 30% of AccorInvest -- claims
to have found solutions. The solution? A can of soda and $2.37 for lunch.
An offer that adds insult to injury for women who say they were not even
given a simple bottle of water during their fast-paced working day.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only humiliation these Black women had to
suffer. They denounce harassment practices at the Ibis Batignolles hotel.
Their stories are shocking: when they question their working conditions,
they are told that the job center is just across the street. When they
demand more respect, these women, mostly Black and immigrants, are told to
go back "home" if they are not happy.
Worse still, some say they have been victims of sexual violence involving
customers as well as the former hotel manager. When reporting these
assaults, some claim that Ibis simply sends them a generic apology letter.
A complaint has been filed and the investigation is ongoing.
[ [link removed] ]Tell Cédric Durand that the ONLY SOLUTION is to fully integrate these
women to the hotel staff.
John, we have a unique opportunity to tip the scales in the
favor of these courageous women. The pressure they have been exerting on
Ibis and Accor for the past 20 months has finally pushed them to open
negotiations. At the same time, its direct competitor, the Louvre Hotels
group, has just ended subcontracting in two of its hotels after a similar
demand by housekeeping staff.
These women have waited long enough, it is time for the hotel giant to
make the right decision and stop the exploitation of housekeeping staff.
[ [link removed] ]Tell Cédric Durand and Ibis to give these women the respect they
deserve by hiring them as core hotel staff.
[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition
Thanks for all that you do,
Nabil and the team at SumOfUs
More information:
[ [link removed] ]Justice for the outsourced Hotel Ibis chambermaids
Institute of Race Relations. 13 February 2020.
[ [link removed] ]“You don’t ask for power, you grab it!” – in Paris, migrant
housekeeping staff are taking on a hotel giant
Equal Times. 17 September 2020.
[ [link removed] ](In French) « Parfois on pleure, tellement nous sommes fatiguées » :
avec les femmes de chambre grévistes de l’hôtel Ibis
Le Monde. 24 July 2019.
SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.
Please help keep SumOfUs strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]
