The proponents hoped that it would elicit "political responses from the government." This Wednesday, deputies of the socialist group tabled a bill to create a compensation fund for the victims of Covid-19. The idea of this text, carried by Régis Juanico and Christian Hutin: cover those who suffered from the aftermath of the Covid and in particular all the "first of the trenches" involved in the crisis. Cashiers, teachers, firefighters, cleaners ... This fund plans to offer financial compensation to these victims "experiencing temporary or permanent consequences" of Covid-19 and "the dependents of the deceased".
Questioned on this point in the Assembly, the Secretary of State Laurent Pietraszewski, responsible for protecting the health of employees against the Covid-19 epidemic near the Minister of Labor, indicated that he "does not share This idea of funds. "I think it is logical to include this in the system of occupational disease which is already proven, which works well and which seems to me quite suitable", he added, adding that "decrees" would be presented "in the coming days" on this subject. This recognition as an occupational disease for caregivers is “a duty” towards them, he also underlines.
The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, indicated at the end of April that Covid-19 would be automatically recognized as an occupational disease for nursing staff, but not for other categories of workers, who will have to undergo conventional procedures.
"An obstacle course"
"For the other workers you mention, who may have been infected in the course of their professional activity, we will also make sure that they can obtain compensation for occupational disease," replied Laurent Pietraszewski, to Régis. Juanico. According to this deputy from Génération.s, however, this occupational disease procedure is "an obstacle course". He argues that a compensation fund would "cover the most diverse situations possible". Christian Hutin also believes that its funding via a contribution from the State and the occupational accident branch of Social Security "would not be excessive".
The related PS elected officials, at the origin of this proposal, pointed out that they had worked with associations such as Fnath (accident victims of life) and Andeva (National Association of Asbestos Victims) or even the Coronavictimes association, which intends to regroup and defend the victims of Covid-19. The latter had asked the government in early May to create such a compensation fund on the model of that of asbestos victims, to go further than recognition as an occupational disease.
The text of the elected PS cannot however be examined with the Assembly "in the next weeks", admitted the elected officials. But the Socialist senators will defend a similar text in the hemicycle on June 25, which could be "enriched" to take into account the version of the deputies.
Criteria to be fulfilled
The secretary general of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, had judged last week "unbearable" to still not be clearly fixed on the recognition as an occupational disease of the coronavirus. The CFDT would like Covid-19 to be recognized as an occupational disease for all trades, as well as other union organizations, and not only for carers. A list of recognized occupational diseases is established in tables annexed to the Social Security Code and the Rural Code.
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If the employee enters the criteria (with durations of exposure to risk), he does not need to prove the link between his pathology and his work. If all the criteria are not met, you have to prove the link between your work and the disease and it is therefore much more complicated. In addition, outside of these tables, any employee who considers that he has contracted a disease as a result of his work can file a file with a regional committee for the recognition of occupational diseases.
