© German Aerospace Center (DLR)/Handout via REUTERS
Isolated in France's southern and Antarctic lands, underpaid and scorned, researchers from the French Polar Institute, hired for civic service, find themselves at odds with their superiors. They demand recognition for all they achieve on a daily basis and respect for labour laws. Our investigation.
The remuneration for researchers hired in civilian service by the French polar institute Paul-Émile-Victor has been increased from €1 050 to €850 per month.
They are sent to the French Southern and Antarctic countries to carry out key climate and biodiversity missions. All for barely €1,000 a month. This is the situation of highly qualified scientists working on the other side of the world with the only status of volunteering for civic service.
Isolated - the next ship that could repatriate them will not leave Reunion Island before the beginning of November - they nevertheless decided to initiate a standoff with the French Paul-Émile-Victor Polar Institute (IPEV) because their "employer" told them that , due to the Urssaf inspection, they had to pay their CSG and CRDS contributions retroactively. Their compensation of €1,050 was bumped up to €850.
Simple volunteer... responsible for the entire IT infrastructure of the base
"Already when we arrive at the bases, some of the soldiers and staff on site look at us civilians as a bit like trainees, they are really surprised when they learn the level of our qualifications... I admit that this announcement , without any empathy, really hurt me," Diane confides.
A computer engineer, also with a master's degree in cybersecurity, the 29-year-old previously worked for three years at the Department of the Armed Forces before joining the National Center for Space Studies...
(Humanité/RoZ)
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