France: Amazon summoned to appeal to protect its employees from the coronavirus

Text by: RFI Follow

French justice confirmed on appeal this Friday, April 24, a decision which required the world giant of online trade to carry out an inventory of the sanitary facilities of its warehouses. The group had closed them, believing that the first court decision was impossible to apply. 

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The judgment of the Court of Appeal confirms the conviction of Amazon France at first instance , while easing the penalty. The court reduces the fine to one hundred thousand euros per day against 1 million euros initially planned and gives the company 48 hours to comply with the order of the court of appeal. In parallel, the court enlarged the list of essential products and authorized the sale of high-tech products, products for animals, for body care, parapharmacy, groceries and drinks.

From the start of the containment, the unions of Amazon France had alerted management on the lack of protection and the impossibility of respecting the regulatory physical distances in the warehouses. Defects confirmed by the labor inspectorate.

The Sud Solidaire union had therefore seized the Nanterre court which had ordered Amazon to assess the risks associated with Covid 19, and as long as it was not done to deliver only the essential products namely food, hygiene and medical, which represent only 10% of the sales volume of the French site. On the pretext that it was impossible for it to distinguish which products were authorized or not for sale, Amazon had appealed the decision and immediately closed its warehouses.

An important judicial decision in view of the resumption of business activity

The unions which brought the case to justice obviously welcome this victory which is a precedent, explains Me Jonathan Cadot, one of the lawyers for the complainants. "  It will be a benchmark for all companies in the context of resumption of progressive activity in terms of deconfinement ... and risk assessment."

Maître Cadot at the microphone of Patricia Lecompte: "Today Amazon cannot maintain that this decision is not executable because it is not sufficiently clear."

Patricia Lecompte

The judgment rendered on Friday allows Amazon to increase the volume of its sales, but the company has not yet given a date to reopen its warehouses.

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• Trade and distribution
• France
• Coronavirus
• Employment and Work
• Unions

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