According to a new study conducted by the Union of Independents, 47% of VSE bosses are paid below the minimum wage of 1,500 euros. Worse, 27% of them live below the poverty line.
These are statistics that are staggering. While a survey by the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises published on January 4 shows that SME bosses receive less than the minimum wage, it concludes that the situation is more dramatic for the self-employed and VSE (mechanics, hairdressers, . grocery, etc.). Thus, according to the inventory of the independents union echoed by the RMC, 47% of them earn less than 1,500 euros per month, barely the minimum wage. 27% earn less than 1,000 euros, which means that a quarter of business leaders live below the poverty line. “This is the result of the year 2023 which was very critical for many of our companies. We now have 50% which is decreasing compared to 2022“, analyzed Marc Sanchez, General Secretary of the Union of Independents and VSE.
Difficult replacement of PGE
While the end-of-year holidays have just ended, 45% of respondents believe they went well, and only 19% consider themselves satisfied. But then, how do we explain the low salaries that business leaders pay themselves? Repayment of state-guaranteed loans (PGE), contracted during the Covid crisis that put a heavy strain on cash flow, as well as increased energy-related costs, may be a source of explanation. “PGE has, on average, a monthly payment of 2,000 euros per month. What we want is the possibility to extend“, claims Mark Sanchez, which guarantees that”The government has become aware of this since the system was extended by credit intermediaries“
Apart from that, when the system is not accessible to VSEs, the Union asks that “The device is more flexible“so that”VSE allows easy access, which is not the case today“
According to study statistics, 85% of VSE managers are starting this new year in a negative state of mind, often worried, angry or even downright disillusioned.
Posted on January 13 at 3:43 pm by Kévin Comby, 6Medias
