The AUP Student Union Goes After Student Pay
The AUP Student Union’s first on-campus event is happening tonight, Tuesday, November 20 at 18h45 in C-101. The Union is holding the event to discuss the low wages paid to student workers at AUP which, they say, do not align with French labor laws.
The Union has brought up concerns regarding how it may be illegal for AUP to pay workers 6€ per hour, almost 4€ less than the French minimum wage of 9.88€ per hour. On the Union's Facebook group they have openly called out the university saying that "AUP does NOT adhere to French minimum wage (SMIC horaire: 9.88€ before taxes) nor does it provide its student workers with a written contract." The Plume has reached out to AUP administration for comment but they were not available at the time.
All students, particularly student workers or those considering becoming student workers, have been asked to come and voice their concerns. The Union will likely be bringing some of these concerns to the administration.
This is not the first sign of discontent over student wages at AUP. In fact, due to these low wages, many students have taken to working at bars, restaurants or other establishments in the city. This subject was covered by Peacock Plume's Jane Addington-May in her recent article Life Behind the Bar. In this article, a Psychology major and senior Frances Eby said that the 6€ wage was simply not sufficient to cover the high cost of living in Paris. The Union even made the point that as all AUP students have to pay for all of the exorbitant expenses that go along with living in Paris, as well as the cost of studying at AUP, they should be adequately compensated with the French minimum wage when working for AUP.
Interestingly, according to the Ministère du Travail, de l’Emploi, de la Formation professionnelle et du Dialogue social, the minimum wage in France has increased every year since 2005, except for between 2016 and 2017 when it remained the same. The minimum wage is rebalanced on January 1 of every year to keep up with inflation.
Students interested in discussing labor laws and student wages over snacks and mocktails, can join the AUP Student Union tonight in C-101 at 18h45.
The Union has consistently said that "This is a student-only forum", although, on the Union's Instagram page, they mentioned that alumni are also welcome to voice their concerns. Any other questions can be addressed to studentunion@aup.edu