Judging the protective measures against the coronavirus insufficient, justice forced Thursday Renault to close its factory in Sandouville, in Seine-Maritime. Seized by the CGT, the Le Havre court sentenced the car manufacturer in summary proceedings "to suspend the resumption of production" because it does not "ensure [...] the safety of factory workers in the face of risk linked to Covid-19 ", according to the interim order disclosed by the Norman media Le Poulpe.
The factory, which has 1,848 employees, resumed its activity partially 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".
Renault must "modify all prevention plans"
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". It also requests "a regularization of the consultation procedure of the CSE (Social and Economic Committee)". 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 take all necessary preventive measures ”.
It "goes much further than the order concerning Amazon which was limited to the question of updating the risk assessment by associating the staff representatives with it", he believes. Amazon was ordered on April 24 by the Versailles Court of Appeal to carry out a risk assessment related to the coronavirus crisis with employee representatives and to reduce its activity by then under penalty of 100,000 euros per offense noted.
Discontent and misunderstanding among other unions
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".
Guillaume Ribeyre, central union delegate CFE-CGC, first union at Renault, says his misunderstanding. The union "participated to try to set up sanitary conditions which seemed to be of good standard". "Worried" for the staff, he is also "afraid" of the duration of the site's shutdown.
“It pays me” newsletter
The newsletter that improves your purchasing powerI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
For Franck Daout, central union delegate of CFDT-Renault, "it's surprise, disappointment and dissatisfaction". He denounces "a political approach" of the CGT, with which "we do not associate at all". The coordination of CGT unions, it regrets "to be obliged to have recourse to the courts so that the health of employees can finally be taken into account," said Fabien Gache, central delegate.
Over 132,000 vehicles produced in 2019
In France, the group had chosen to restart the assembly sites of Flins (Yvelines) and Sandouville first because they manufacture models with full order books. In Sandouville, Renault produced 132,231 vehicles in 2019, mainly Renault Trafic utility vehicles.
Like its competitors, the French manufacturer suspended its activities in most countries during the month of March, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. A slow restart is underway at certain European industrial sites, while several factories have already resumed activity in Russia, Romania, Portugal and Spain.
