They may be
yours, but we're too upscale for them,
says Dutch firm 2theloo;
“Dames pipi” are an institution in France, where few seem to be
disturbed by the term’s inherently sexist nature. The position is
overwhelmingly staffed by women, though one attendant told FRANCE 24
that her colleagues included a growing number of “monsieur pipi”.
2theloo,
a Dutch firm that operates some 150 luxury public washrooms in 13
countries, has made toilet attendants a staple of its premises. But the
company has its own idea of how they should work – and its decision not
to rehire existing staff at the Paris lavatories it recently took over
has met with stiff resistance.
So the
les grandes dames staged protests at lavatories near Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe and other tourist spots. Aided and abetted by
the
Force Ouvrière (FO) trade union. The union claims
2theloo is violating France's labor laws by not continuing with the employment of the ladies. But the ladies do protest too much, if the company is to be believed.
“We are not a cleaning company, we do not do the same job,” he said,
adding that 2theloo was marketing a “concept” that involved “boutique
toilets” and the “sale of products”.
The company’s website
describes this concept as “innovative retail service (…) with always
clean restrooms, unique toilet design, and a shop with toiletries and
gifts”. Spending a penny – or, in this case, around 1.5 euros – in
public toilets “should not be something that stresses you out”, says the
site, but rather “an extraordinary experience”.
They seem to be getting treated to an extremely ordinary labor relations experience right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment