AUP student workers: ARC and writing tutors, Office workers, Library workers, Campus Tour guides. 

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT OUR WAGES

AUP’s current 6 euro/hour wage is offensive. Our labor is legitimate and should be compensated fairly.

The employment of student workers without any written contract and paid below the French minimum wage SMIC (Salaire Minimum Interprofessionnel de Croissance) of 9,88€/hour is in direct violation with French labor law and the specific regulation regarding the employment of students by their university. All workers have to be paid at least the SMIC (code du travail, article L. 3231-1 and L. 3131-2). Their hourly wage cannot be set below its level (code de l'éducation, article D. 811-5) and they are recruited under contract by the university (code de l'éducation, article D. 811-1). 

THE AUP STUDENT BODY IS NOT A RESERVOIR OF CHEAP LABOR

The institution profits considerably from student work. Programs such as the ARC and the Writing Lab are entirely dependent on students’ intellectual labor and would perish without student workers. Private tutors for complex subjects like Corporate Finance, Statistics, and Arabic are only compensated the measly hourly wage of 6 euros. You cannot even buy lunch from the Amex with one hour’s work. While the ARC is an excellent program that distinguishes AUP from other universities, its undeniable benefits should not come at the detriment of the student workers that sustain it. 

YOU DO NOT OWE THE UNIVERSITY CHEAP LABOR

Whatever labels the institution uses to describe student work and student workers – “Community Service Grant Program” and “Community Service Grant Recipients”– labor in exchange for monetary compensation is work and should be rewarded fairly and in accordance with French labor law. If AUP is unable to sustain this program ethically (i.e. without taking advantage of students’ financial desperation) and legally (by adhering to SMIC) then a major reconfiguration of the current system is urgently needed.  Our goal is NOT to do away with this system, rather to improve it. If you are a previous or current student worker, we encourage you to write to Financial Aid and express your discontent using the words “We Want SMIC”. If you are concerned about maintaining anonymity, write to us at studentunion@aup.edu or come to our weekly public meetings every Monday between 3:30 and 4:40. 

We may be dependent on these jobs, but we are not passive. 

AUP Student Union.