Thibault Petit: “For the disabled, the labor code does not apply”

La Croix L’Hebdo: What is an Esat and what happens there?

Thibault Petit: It is an “establishment or service of help through work”. It is 70% subsidized by the State and employs people with disabilities who are excluded from the traditional world of work because they are considered unsuitable. It is also a place of production where there are requirements for profitability and where the labor code does not apply. In the Esat, the physically and mentally handicapped, the autistic, the visually impaired, but also people suffering from bipolar disorders or suffering from depression are welders, market gardeners, delivery men or gardeners… They work 35 hours a week and earn around €715 net per week. month. They are 120,000 in France, distributed in 1,400 structures.

→ EXPLANATION. Disability: what is really going on within the Esat?

Why such a difference in status with the ordinary environment?

PT: These workers are not employees but “users” of a medico-social structure. They don’t get a salary, just some sort of compensation. The Esat are not subject to the labor code but to that of social action and families. The workers therefore do not benefit from minimum wages, holidays, union rights, they do not have the possibility of seizing the prud’hommes or the Labor Inspectorate.

However, you say that these users are qualified and productive…

PT: Yes, many workers are completely self-employed. They meet the client, pick up their truck in the morning, bring it back in the evening. In the Esat specialized in market gardening, the seed is planted there, it is cultivated, the products are sold within the establishment itself. When the ancestors of Esat were created in the 1950s, people with disabilities only did small tasks, packaging and sorting activities. Today, the level of skills has jumped. The entire production chain is under control, productivity has increased, only the status of workers remains unchanged.

Why have these host institutions drifted away?

PT: From their creation, they were intended to be a professional springboard to the ordinary environment. But the too simple and too repetitive tasks proposed did not ensure the necessary qualifications. Moreover, with globalization, these activities have migrated to Southeast Asia. The Esat have therefore chosen the path of the tertiary sector, of services. They have been transformed, modernized, in green spaces, carpentry, digital technology, market gardening…

→ CRITICAL. “Extraordinary”, on France 2: disabled but motivated employees

The notions of efficiency, speed and profitability have appeared. Henceforth, the system structurally creates abuse. From the moment disabled workers are asked to produce as in the ordinary environment, the contradiction with their status, their rights and their remuneration is obvious.

How do we achieve such a level of skills in the Esat?

PT: Can work in an Esat people whose working capacities are less than a third of those of a valid person. This criterion is very vague, impossible to evaluate. Since 2005, France has recognized mental disabilities (bipolarity, depression, etc.). The Esat have therefore welcomed a new population. These people, whose disorder often started in adulthood, followed a traditional education and experienced the ordinary environment, a godsend for the Esat. The management of the establishments has also evolved. We brought in managers who pushed for performance because we had to get closer to the ordinary environment.

Who manages these establishments?

PT: Associations, which also manage retirement homes or homes. Often, the Esat is the financial locomotive. Profits can amount to €200,000 per year for some. The problem is that the associations that campaign for the disabled with the media or the government are also managers of Esat. There is a lack of representation.

Is the picture so black? Are there happy workers?

PT: Yes, disabled workers are happy in Esat. They like it because they get up in the morning, have an activity, are useful, contribute a little. Some admit they are happy, others go there out of necessity. Many have said to me: “We have no choice, it’s that or do nothing. And for families, it’s a relief to know that their child, often an adult, has found their place somewhere.

→ ANALYSIS. Disabled unemployment has fallen over the past three years

Is an improvement in the situation possible?

PT: Some associations that do not manage Esat claim that the labor code applies, others want them to be closed and denounce them as places of segregation and exclusion. I personally don’t have an answer.

Why is the subject a political blind spot?

PT: There is an invisibility problem. People with different disabilities (psychological, sensory, physical, mental) have been grouped together in the same institution, which hides them. In addition, the Esat are located outside small towns, we do not see them. Finally, it is about subcontracting. In France, companies with more than 20 employees are subject to an obligation to employ disabled workers (6% of the workforce). To circumvent the quota, they resort to the Esat. The company no longer integrates the disabled, society forgets them, and the political world does not take up the subject.

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The challenge

Certain subjects do not take, it is the case of the handicap. The presidential election of 2022 demonstrates this once again, especially when the Covid hovers or Russia invades Ukraine. However, this book tells us that in France 120,000 disabled workers toil like valid 35 hours a week for half a minimum wage, without benefiting from the labor code.

Why we love it

The author has criss-crossed France for years with the sole objective of talking about this little-known subject. His journey began in 2015, when he first entered an Esat. His first reaction: “Disabled people at work, hats off! Then a question: “How much are they paid?” Doubt crept in, his investigation began.

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