At the Saint-Brieuc hospital (Côtes-d’Armor), absenteeism soared: + 30% in the first quarter, compared to last year. As summer approached, management therefore offered nurses and caregivers to postpone their holidays, in exchange for a bonus.
For each week of vacation postponed after September 15, volunteers will receive 350 euros. The director of the establishment, Ariane Benard, explains that the objective is to keep enough staff in the services during the summer, in order to “not close any beds”.
“Our goal is to preserve professional leave. They are coming out of two years of crisis so these holidays must take place. But, those who can and want to postpone holidays, we value it, ”explains the director.
THE PROPOSAL IS NOT UNANIMOUS
Among nurses and caregivers, the proposal is not unanimous. According to Régis Pineau, CGT delegate at the Saint-Brieuc hospital, “some agents” consider that the management is trying to “buy them to eliminate their summer vacation”.
Yet these holidays “are well deserved […] after a year of work,” said the trade unionist. These professionals have every right to take time off, “with their families, with their children”.
Moreover, three years ago, the Lannion hospital had not met with great success by offering the same kind of bonus in exchange for a postponement of leave: only a dozen volunteers had made themselves known.