Housing, employment, training… seasonal workers in Sète face local issues

Abdel Illah Bechar, Allan Bailleul, Bambi Simard, Marvin Dugenne. Midi Libre

Comme chaque année, les saisonniers font leur arrivée à Sète, qu'ils viennent d'ici ou d'ailleurs. Ils nous évoquent les problématiques qu'ils rencontrent.

Abdel Illah Bechar, 19 ans

Abdel Illah has been working in the restaurant business for two years now. Arriving from Algeria in France in 2021, he first learned French before embarking on seasonal work. "I love my job, but I also like having free time in the winter so I can continue to train myself", he assures.

With this in mind, he has also started training as a security agent. "My dream is to’ rsquo;finally have my professional card and work in this sector." In the meantime, the young man will continue to work in the kitchen throughout this next season.< /p>

Allan Bailleul, 22 years old

Allan has been doing the seasons since he was 16. In the kitchen, he spends the summer in Sète and the winter in the mountains. "The hardest part is finding the right team: when you're new, you always get a little expensive."

On the housing side, Allan explains that he encountered difficulties linked to his pay slips « not inflated enough » to reassure the owners. On the work side, however, Allan assures: "If you are looking for catering in Sète or in the Thau basin, you will inevitably find a job. " He imagines experiencing the seasons until his thirties. "I'll stop then to consider something more family-friendly."

Bambi Simard, 26 years old

Originally from Lorraine, Bambi defines herself as a traveler. The seasons, for her, are a necessity:"I am nomadic, I need to move all the time, to discover new people." Naturopath by training, the young woman does seasonal work to "cut off a little from the world of the sick".

Today, she is preparing to start a season as a barmaid in a hut in Sète. A job that she found without difficulty upon her arrival on the singular island. For her, no housing problem: she lives in a camper van. "An asset vis-à-vis employers", assures -she.

Marvin Dugenne, 23 years old

In 2020, Marvin was seasonal in the summer. A summer where he worked "non-stop" in a hut. Now employed in catering all year round, he notes, with hindsight, the gap between the workload and his former salary during the season. "I made the mistake of not reading the contract. I found myself working from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., without a day off for two months. It wasn’t very legal. In retrospect, I judge that I was not paid well enough given what I did." Not against returning as a seasonal worker, he would this time "be careful to read the contract before [s]’hire".