Paris City Councilor Bárbara Gomes argued that abuses against Portuguese cleaning women in the North of France should give rise to a “strong union reaction” to signal cases to the authorities.
“I know that there are already women who go to CGT [central sindical] and the first reaction will be union, as there is an increase in the number of cases, a strong union action because they are people who work alone and are isolated. And then there is a political reaction and we have to think about how we are going to help these women “, said Bárbara Gomes, Paris city councilor and guest professor at the Polytechnic University of Hauts-de-France, in statements to the Lusa agency.
This Portuguese-descendant is specialized in Labor Law and recently took her place in the highest body of the Chamber of Paris, having been elected by the 18th district on the communist list. Before that, Bárbara Gomes was part of the youth structures of CGT, France’s second largest union center.
An article published at the end of August in the online newspaper Mediapart has sparked reactions on social networks when reporting the reality of Portuguese women who worked for several years for wealthy bosses and who often see their several years of work ending with a forced dismissal and threats.
“Many of these women are coming to retirement and the bosses do not want to pay social benefits at the time of retirement, which depend on the number of years they have to work, so they put a lot of pressure on people to resign and they have the right on the side of them, but it is difficult to have proof of the hours worked and make their situation complicated “, said the Paris city councilor.
Even with a declared contract, there are very different situations. Among women who work for several employers, there are cases where only a part of their hours are declared and another part is paid without any registration. However, whatever the situation, there are resources.
“There are always unions as a resource, but also labor inspection and, if the situation is really complicated, the police should be called,” said Bárbara Gomes.
For this Portuguese descendant “the Portuguese in France suffer from an important social racism” and even now it is difficult to be of Portuguese origin and stand out in other fields.
“We are few to be in politics and to have jobs that society values. People like the Portuguese because they are very hardworking and quiet, but when someone gets something else, there are always reactions and people will always remind us what class we belong, “he concluded.
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