Here is the news about the Ukraine Europe seasonal workers! War in Ukraine: In Trouville-sur-Mer, how Dasha and her friends fill the lack of seasonal workers, while trying to rebuild themselves
Before the start of the war in their country, Dasha and her friends worked in the restaurant business in Kiev. They were able to find a job in a restaurant in the small Norman resort, to the great relief of the manager.
The sea is high this Friday morning in Trouville-sur-Mer, an emblematic seaside resort on the Côte fleurie, in Calvados. The gulls fly over the stretch of sand just raked, on which the beachgoers install the first deckchairs and umbrellas, which will quickly find takers. In Normandy and elsewhere in France, the summer of 2022 is already shaping up to be the one of recovery for the tourism sector. Despite the fires, inflation ... and a glaring lack of manpower in the hotel and restaurant industry.
Ukraine Europe seasonal workers
Cyril Leseur, the manager of the only bar-restaurant in Trouville located in the middle of the beach, knows something about it: "Just this morning, I have three out of twenty employees who do not give sound or image. "The six-year-old has quite a few flying hours in the profession, so he does not mince his words: "During the Covid-19 crisis, the "whatever it takes" has made many people prefer to stay at home, or change jobs. It's true that we have a difficult job ..." A job that, however, did not put off the three young women who discreetly bypass the Galatée terrace. "It's a real pleasure to work with them," enthuses Cyril Leseur, who praises their "punctuality and seriousness".
They are Dasha Vysotska, 31, a cheerful brunette; Ieugeniia Panchenko, 34, whose eyes are the color of the sea that morning; Dasha Shatalova, 29, a tall blonde who is always standing back from her friends. The first two are from Brovary, an administrative region east of Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. The third comes from Odessa, a port city in the south of the country. Before February 24 and the invasion of their country by Russia, Dasha the brunette and Yeugeniia worked as a chef and sous-chef at Eter, a trendy restaurant in Kiev. Dasha, the shy one, was a bartender at another establishment in the city.
Faced with the language barrier, it is difficult to account precisely for what they and their families have suffered: the first bombings, the fear, the hours of volunteering to prepare meals for soldiers and hospitals, the first deaths in their entourage. "I was having panic attacks," says Ieugeniia. It wasn't good for my mental health, we had to leave. »
Ukraine Europe seasonal workers data
At the beginning of March, Dasha the brunette, Ieugeniia and some of their relatives flee the country. "Everything happened very quickly," they remember. In an hour, we had packed our bags. "Their journey by car takes them through Poland, Germany, then France. First stop in Paris. Dasha the blonde, who left behind her boyfriend, mobilized in the army, joins them there in mid-March, after an improbable train trip. The chance of mutual assistance, which they and other thousands of displaced Ukrainians (more than 61,600 people between February 24 and August 4, according to the Ministry of the Interior) were able to benefit from, meant that they arrived in Trouville-sur-Mer at the beginning of April. What to do, then, apart from gnawing their bloods for their families in danger? Work.
A CV posted on an online site in May, and Dasha the brunette was immediately contacted by Cyril Leseur. "He's a big-hearted boss, he didn't hesitate to hire all three of us," insists the young woman, who may not be aware that their "professionalism" and their need to "think about something else" would take a thorn out of many professionals in the hotel and restaurant industry.
Ukraine Europe seasonal workers info
President of the latter branch within the Umih, Hubert Jan acknowledges that, "faced with the lack of manpower, which was estimated at between 20% and 30%, it was either closing the establishments or reducing the reception capacities. Everyone tried to find solutions". If he cannot advance, "for lack of observatories on local catering", figures regarding the number of Ukrainians who will have filled the deficit of French seasonal workers this season, he praises their "rigor". And not only in one industry. "In my town [Fouesnant, in Finistère], thanks to word of mouth or associations, some Ukrainian women were able to be hired as housekeepers. They are real workers. »
Ukraine Europe seasonal workers statements
In Galatea, indeed, it depots. "Despite the language barrier, they learn quickly," says Emilien Bossard, 24, one of our three Ukrainian friends' colleagues. Behind the bar, Dasha the discreet learned by heart the list of drinks to be served. Lemonade, espresso, Spritz ... The young woman never repeats the order and executes. In the kitchen, Dasha the brunette cleans quantities of salad, while Ieugeniia cleans a mound of sardines. With her headphones on, she says she's listening to a podcast that explains how to cook trout. "We try to have a normal life, to have fun, discovering the region," she explains. But I can't help feeling guilty: I feel selfish, because I am here, safe. ""We miss family, friends, our language... Everything," Dasha slips in without her usual big smile.
At the end of their contract, mid-September, the three friends will try to return to Ukraine, to find those who leave such a big void in the whirlwind of the small Norman seaside resort.
