Seine et Marne. In the aviation sector, employees are suing their company

More than a hundred dissatisfied employees, this is what the company will have to face Acna, located in Mesnil-Amelot (Seine-et-Marne). This subsidiary of the group Servair, specializes in business services from airline sector, especially the cabin cleaning planes.

But several employees believe they have been wronged by the company. This is not the first time that employees have come into conflict with management. In October, a job protection plan was canceled by the administrative court of Melun. This time, it is not to keep their jobs that employees are mobilizing but for their salaries.

A loss of several thousand euros

Several employees believe they have been injured by several hundred or even thousands of euros in recent years. Two of them, Jean-Pascal Serer and Thierry prevost, both unionized at UNSA, called on a firm of experts to assess their damage. In total, the damage would amount over € 1,700 for Jean-Pascal Serer and more than 10,000 € for Thierry Prevost.

Thus, the end-of-year bonuses or the paid vacation allowances would have for example been calculated according to the least favorable method for these employees, contrary to what is provided for by the Labor Code. For the time being, only 3 employees have submitted a file for proceedings before the Bobigny court.

But their lawyer, Me Julien Bouzerand, warns: “Other files will follow”. In total, it would be between 150 and 200 files that could be filed against the company Acna. According to the lawyer, the breaches are each time very similar.

Discriminated because unionized?

Jean-Pascal Serer also claims to be a victim of union discrimination. “I was on partial unemployment from the 1st confinement and until mid-July 2020,” he says. I asked several times to rework because the flights had resumed. But I discovered that they called on temporary workers via subcontracting companies ”.

Other employees of the company could have returned to work without difficulty. “For those who were not working, it was more than 30% of financial loss”, assures Jean-Pascal Serer. This employee believes that if he was put aside, it is because of his union commitment. “In addition, by working with subcontractors, they paid them less while receiving aid,” he accuses.

Social security contribution fraud

But for these employees and their lawyer, it is a completely different type of fraud that could be the most problematic: that of social contributions. The company Acna would thus have paid less contributions on the wages of its employees for years. For this, it would have been based on a legal mechanism allowing companies to benefit from an 8% reduction on social contributions.

But this practice is only possible for some sectors and with the agreement of the employees. However, according to Me Julien Bouzerand and the expert firm commissioned by the two employees, neither of these two conditions would not be fulfilled here. “This has an impact on our retirement, on our indemnities in the event of an industrial accident, on our sick leave…, enumerates Jean-Pascal Serrer. Me, I do not agree to take 8% of my retirement.

For this reason, the employee requested nearly € 10,000 in compensation. “This allowance was applied for all employees”, specifies Me Julien Bouzerand. The total damage, however, is difficult to estimate. “There is no immediate damage but indirectly on pensions for example. Those who have the greatest harm in the end, it is the fund of the Social Security and Urssaf », Indicates Me Julien Bouzerand. For the lawyer, this is the originality of these cases: “what is rare is that the allowance is the main subject”.

An unknown date for the hearing

The hearing has been postponed several times, and a new date should soon be communicated to the employees and their lawyer. In the meantime, employees will have to continue to fight with their employer, while the situation could again be complicated in the airline sector due to the covid-19 pandemic.

When contacted, the company said it did not comment on “either the legal proceedings or the individual situations through the press”.

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