Unions question 2025 pay scales in Parisian haute couture sector

Parisian haute couture ateliers are feeling the pinch. Negotiations are under way for the 2025 pay scales in the ‘Parisian couture’ professional category, which includes leading luxury houses and independent labels, most of them regularly showing their collections in Paris. The unions have however condemned inconsistencies in the wage structure proposed by the industry association this year, notably between some professional categories and their statutory wages.

During pay scales negotiations for the ‘Parisian couture’ category, the industry association’s wage commission has told the unions that level 6 employees, the first grade in the executive category, will be paid less than those on level 5, the topmost grade of the line manager category. The annual salary of level 6 executives would be €38,700, while that for level 5 employees would be €38,950. Last year, level 5 and 6 employees earned the same annual salary of €38,279.

The proposal has been deemed unacceptable by the five unions representing the sector in France, the CFDT, FO, UNSA, CGT and CFE/CGC. “We can’t understand why an executive should earn less than a line manager. This will surely dissuade employees from making a career within their company, and is all the more absurd since the luxury industry does need executives. We can’t fathom this strategy,” said Brigitte Gohier, secretary for the apparel sector at CFDT and one of the negotiators.

“Employers have introduced pay rises across the board, but have applied a much lower coefficient to the executive category. If they will continue to apply smaller increases to executive pay compared to that of line managers, the whole wage structure will be flattened,” added Gohier.

The five union organisations active in the couture sector are refusing to sign the deal in its current form, and are asking the French Haute Couture Federation to come back to the negotiating table “with a proposal that is appropriate and respectful of employees.” The pay deal is all the more important as it sets the minimum wage applicable in the haute couture sector. If an agreement will not be reached, the pay scales set in 2024 will continue to apply, and the pay rises envisaged for 2025 won’t be considered.

10,760 employees from 680 companies

The dispute is giving a further glimpse of the troubled waters the luxury sector is currently navigating, disrupted by a complex business environment, the Chinese market’s slowdown, and the threat of sizeable tariffs imposed by the USA. As Gohier has acknowledged, “business is slumping, and orders are thin on the ground.”  

The ‘Parisian couture’ professional category, of which the Haute Couture Union Chamber represents 99.57% of members, comprises the leading French houses (Chanel, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Celine, etc.), luxury labels owned by foreign groups, like Chloé, Nina Ricci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Schiaparelli, Carven, and Balmain, independent labels like Marine Serre, Rick Owens, Jacquemus, Yohji Yamamoto, etc. as well as emerging labels and artisanal workshops.

The sector employs 10,760 people, chiefly in Paris, active in a range of trades that include design, manufacturing and sales, working for 680 companies. Of these, 62% have more than 250 employees, according to 2023 data compiled by the Observatoire Compétences Industrie. Executives account for 38% of the workforce, mid-level managers (including line managers) account for 27%, workers for 17%, and other employees for 16%. In 2024, 10% of the haute couture sector’s workforce consisted of temporary workers, a percentage in line with the wider industry’s practices.