I passed a group of striking ski lift operators whilst in Meribel today.
They are protesting about job insecurity and the level of their wages.? This is probably true for many seasonal staff employed in the tourism industry.? The one advantage they have over many of the British seasonal staff in the resorts is that they will be paid at least the SMIC (the French minimum wage) of around 1300 Euro / month.? British seasonal staff reportedly earn as little as 200 Euro a month and work 60+ hours a week.
On a more positive note the snow is excellent both for skiing and snowshoeing!? There’s been another recent fall of snow and my son, working at Montalbert, reports the cumulative total for the season there is now over 3 metres.
