Justice has forced Thursday Renault to close its factory in Sandouville, Seine-maritime, because of protective measures deemed insufficient against the Covid-19 but the French automotive group announces that it will appeal.
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"Insufficient security in the face of the risk associated with Covid-19"
Referred by the CGT, the Le Havre court ordered Renault to "suspend the resumption of production" because this "does not" ensure (...) the safety of workers in the factory facing the risk linked to Covid-19 ", according to the interim order disclosed by the Norman media Le Poulpe, of which AFP also had a copy. The factory, which has 1,848 employees, had partially resumed its activity on April 28 after having stopped it on March 16 because of the epidemic. She was arrested Thursday afternoon until further notice, according to management.
Production is suspended "for the time of the effective implementation" of measures such as "organizing and providing for each (of) employees before they return to work practical and appropriate training". The court also orders Renault to "implement preventive actions as well as working and production methods guaranteeing a better level of protection of workers' health and safety".
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"A penalty of 3,000 euros per violation found"
He also asked for "a regularization of the CSE consultation procedure". The automaker must also "modify all prevention plans and safety protocols". Each bond ordered "will be subject to a penalty payment of 3,000 euros per violation found and per day of delay from the date of service". For Gérard Le Corre of the CGT of Seine-maritime, "this decision constitutes an important point of support for the union teams of thousands of factories or companies where activity resumes without properly consulting the staff representatives and without taking all necessary preventive measures ".
A sanction on the form, but not the substance for the management of Renault
For its part, the management of Renault, which believes that activity had resumed "in good conditions" thanks to "a social dialogue established for several weeks", recalls that the "gradual recovery" of its factories in France "is taking place within the social framework defined by the solidarity and future contract signed with the trade union organizations CFDT, CFE-CGC and FO on April 2, 2020 ". The group says "that the court's decision mainly concerns the procedures for presenting all preventive measures to staff representative institutions and does not call into question the health standards defined by Renault".
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"The health security on the site was adequate"
For Franck Daout, central union delegate of CFDT-Renault, "it's surprise, disappointment and dissatisfaction" because "what was done for health security on the site was appropriate" and he denounces "a political approach "of the CGT, to which" we do not associate at all ". "It was the first factory to take over with 100% of the employees. The 700 temporary workers who were supposed to get there on Monday will not return. We do not know how the unemployment of Renault employees will be treated for the ten days" that should last suspension of production.