A wind of mutiny is blowing in the tanker.
The publication on Friday of a letter addressed to the thousands of employees of the first French company by the director of his "Covid crisis unit", General Denis Favier, set fire to the powder at the foot of his headquarters, a skyscraper - 187 m high sky overlooking the defense business district.
In this document, the oil group, although reminding its thousands of employees that “teleworking is the rule”, “recommends” them to perform “face-to-face work up to 2 days a week”, or even “three”, on the condition in particular of having "downloaded the" tousanticovid "application from the government.
It is a question of finding a "necessary face-to-face collective working time" but also "to allow [...] the accomplishment of collective tasks (meetings of management committees, budget meetings, project meetings, design offices, interim reports, etc.) operational team meetings) ”, describes General Favier.
"Absurd", "dangerous", "revolting".
This Monday morning, the "recommendation" revolts thousands of employees forced to find their way back to work only three days after the rule adopted by the government of "teleworking increased to 100% for employees who can perform their tasks remotely".
In a context of confinement, this is where the shoe pinches.
For many executives and simple employees present on site and who confided in the foot of the tower under cover of anonymity, the position of their company is "contrary to the instructions of the government".
"The great chief has decided, so we obey"
Back at the office, their lunches in hand, two department managers thus ensure that they are faced with “orders” that they “apply with regret”.
“We even fill in an Excel file of attendance that we must transmit, details one of them, who manages a team of several dozen employees.
And this is not to try to be as few as possible in the premises and respect the distance, he assures.
On the contrary, the instruction is clear, to try to bring 50% of the workforce into each department.
"
"A silly note," said another senior official.
For the same tasks, he said, we were congratulated on the productivity of our teleworking teams after the containment in March ”.
In fact, can he oppose face-to-face work?
"Impossible": what falls under a position or a "teleworkable" task is not yet engraved in stone while negotiations on this subject open on Tuesday between the employers and the trade unions.
"But in the meantime, the big boss has decided, so we obey and we bring back the employees otherwise it will be me who will be in the sights, fears another supervisor.
While there is no need to come because everything can be done remotely.
"
Rare testimonies in a world where omerta usually reigns.
And they are not the only ones to steer clear, because the vast majority of headquarters employees to find their La Défense office on Monday worked at home during the first confinement.
"The incomprehension is all the more total as we are supposed to be confined for a month to overcome the virus", illustrate two young employees, "stunned" by "the turn" of the text received Friday via the intranet of the company .
A "recommendation is not an obligation"
Faced with the controversy that has simmered all weekend, the unions of the company reacted on Monday at the end of the day.
In a statement, the CFDT accused "the management of hijacking government rules".
Total "does not work to prevent the spread of the virus at the height of its means", accuses Geoffrey Caillon, central union delegate CFDT.
He denounces "a deliberately" twisted "application note [...] Even if it does not prohibit anything, it encourages managers to disobey the recommendations of the state by imposing the rule of face-to-face work", he explains. .
An observation shared by Joel Autier, union official at the Autonomous Confederation of Labor.
"The group pretends to recommend, but it's a language skill: everyone understands that they have to come to work."
The union representative points to "a risk to the health of employees".
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Contacted by Le Parisien, the group denounces "a desire to make people believe that Total is in contradiction with the national protocol to ensure the health and safety of employees in the Company" and ensures "strict compliance".
A "recommendation is not an obligation", specifies its communications manager.
Certain activities require access to tools available only on site (specialized software, access to sensitive data, etc.) and in order to preserve social ties, employees are offered face-to-face work up to 2 days a week ” , explains the group.
Asked, the director of his “Covid crisis unit”, General Denis Favier, did not answer us.