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PSA plans to restart factories in France, unions worried

2020-03-29T15:21:54.444Z


The PSA group presented a health protocol on Friday "in order to create the conditions for a secure and gradual resumption of activity". L


Trials begin this Monday in all French sites. After ten days of closure and in the middle of a confinement period linked to the coronavirus, the PSA group plans to restart all its factories in France and in Europe. Management presented a health protocol on Friday to the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) of each site. Objective: "create the conditions for a secure and gradual resumption of activity", to use the weighted words of the press release from the automotive group, which brings together the Citroën, DS Automobiles, Peugeot, Opel and Vauxhall brands.

"We will not make any compromise on the health of our employees, so that the industrial restart necessary for the sustainability of the company can be done in optimal conditions" affirms Carlos Tavares, the president of the executive board, in this same press release.

Among the measures proposed, "taking the temperature, wearing a mask on site with daily individual equipment, respecting the distances between people, keeping the doors open (except fire doors) to avoid contact with the handles , cleaning and disinfection of tools and work surface every sixty minutes, a waiting time of three hours when exchanging parts (hand to hand), longer breaks of five minutes to wash the hands, the separation of thirty minutes between the teams' rounds to avoid staff crossing or even the doubling of the bus collection lines to guarantee passenger spacing ”.

No reopening schedule fixed

When does the group plan to open its factories? “We have to wait for the results of the audits launched on Monday. These tests can take a day or two, or much longer. No reopening schedule has been set, ”repeats the communication tirelessly. Could a reopening be launched even when the Prime Minister has just extended the confinement until April 15? "A car may seem less vital than other products, but a company cannot stay long at a standstill and just bear costs," says the spokesperson for PSA. No date is given. We'll see. We are ready with measures. "

However, it is the date of Tuesday, March 31 that was mentioned to the employees of Valenciennes (North), during the CSE. The site, which employs 1,700 people, manufactures gearboxes. Its restart, as well as that of Douvrin (Pas-de-Calais), specializing in engines, is therefore essential for the resumption of all other assembly plants. In addition to the production sites, the resumption of work should also concern “the commercial network and the tertiary sites”, notes the press release from Peugeot-Citroën.

Project unanimously rejected by unions

"It is quite rare at PSA to be emphasized, all the unions unanimously refused this reopening project," welcomes Jean-Pierre Mercier, CGT central union representative. It is a stab in the back of nurses and doctors who risk their lives to save lives. Beyond the measures taken, we cannot organize the deconfinement of hundreds of employees in this way when the medical profession begs us to stay at home. It would be criminal! "

"We voted against the resumption of work for 200 people on a voluntary basis," confirms Sébastien Leroy, secretary of the (majority) CFTC union of PSA Valenciennes. The reopening was postponed, undated. For him as for his colleagues, "the protocol is robust but any resumption of activity is inconceivable until the epidemic peak has not passed. "Anh-Quan Nguyen, central delegate of the CFE-CGC, also assures that" there is no question of pressing the "on" button while the crisis is rising. We will wait until the cases decrease to gradually bring the employees back. "

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The fact remains that PSA suppliers have already been asked to supply the necessary parts for assembly lines from the first days of April.

The automaker is not alone in wanting to resume production. The management of the Renault factory in Sandouville (Seine-Maritime) also opened negotiations with representative unions on Friday to reopen the site after April 13.

Source: leparis

All business articles on 2020-03-29

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