Short of manpower, the French hotel industry decided to recruit in Tunisia. The post-covid return to normal did not see French candidates flocking to bars and restaurants. Faced with the rebound in its activity, the sector must therefore find new employees elsewhere. Tourist country with experienced staff, this Maghreb country will be the reservoir of French tourism.
The Union of Trades and Industries of the Hotel Industry (UMIH), the main employers’ union in the branch, is seeking to recruit from all directions. He is thus preparing to sign an agreement with the Tunisian government to facilitate the arrival of young people from Tunisia from 2023.
While this country is struggling to regain its pre-covid level of attendance, thousands of young people will be able to go to work as seasonal workers in France. Another convention, with Morocco, should follow.
The situation is not new in France. The sector had already been in “permanent tension for years” explains Thierry Grégoire, president of the UMIH-seasonal workers. It then lost a large number of staff during the health crisis. In addition, “Pôle emploi has a very low stock of job seekers” looking for work in the hotel and catering industry.
Seasonal workers from Tunisia and Morocco already numerous in agriculture
The sector has therefore decided to imitate certain agricultural sectors. Producers of clementines, strawberries, cherries or even grapes are already highly dependent on foreign labour, particularly from the Maghreb. For several years, Aneti, the equivalent of Pôle Emploi in Tunisia, has been working on the mobility of Tunisian seasonal employees with the agricultural world and the FNSEA. It allows French agriculture to supplement its business needs when there are deficiencies.
As part of the agreement that the hotel trade union wants to sign in June in Tunisia, the organization will put Aneti in contact with French companies wishing to recruit Tunisian seasonal workers. The contracts will have a maximum duration of five months.
But, this device “will remain very marginal”, because “the priority remains to hire job seekers in France”, assures the UMIH. Employers will pay workers according to the salary scales of the hotel and restaurant industry in France. They must also be able to accommodate these employees, who will submit their application on the HCR-Emploi recruitment platform created by the UMIH.
