Coronavirus in France: truck drivers threaten to use their right of withdrawal

A truck driver wearing a protective mask at the Amazon logistics center in Lauwin-Planque in northern France on March 19, 2020. REUTERS / Pascal Rossignol

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Two weeks after the start of confinement in France, trucks continue to circulate, for example to supply supermarkets with food products. The CFDT, FO and CFTC road transport unions have called on drivers to exercise their right of withdrawal "individually" as of Monday, in the event of "breaches" of protective measures.

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From the start of containment in France, truck drivers were faced with the double problem of organizing work and closing many motorway areas. In the rare areas, the toilets are no longer cleaned and catering is no longer provided; drivers can just put fuel in their trucks.

" It's been 13 days that it lasts, 13 days that we alert by saying" attention, attention ". We are putting additional pressure on the government and if we are not heard, we will stop within a week. If we don't stop lunid, we will stop Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, ”says Thierry Douine, president of the CFTC transport federation.

Employers to take action

The pressure is likely to increase on the government, but not only. According to Muriel Pénicaud, the Minister of Labor, it is up to employers to set up, for their employees, the necessary protections against the coronavirus.

For truck drivers or those of Amazon, the implementation of protective measures is up to their employers. For the same reasons as for truckers, a CGT federation of the territorial public service filed strike notices for the entire month of April.

It is true that at the outset we, trade union organizations, said to them: "Listen, there must be solidarity, do not start waving the red flag from the start, try to be the most conciliatory possible". But being conciliatory does not mean saying Amen to everything.

Thierry Douine, president of the CFTC Transport federation

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