In the midst of a health crisis and while the peak of the coronavirus epidemic is still to come according to experts, some employees who cannot telecommute, will resume their way to work from this week. While confining the population, the government urged companies and employees to civic action, to avoid an overly massive slowdown in economic activity.
Partial resumption of activity in Airbus factories
The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which decided on Tuesday March 17 - after the confinement announcements - to suspend its production and assembly activities in its French and Spanish factories, the time to clean up and put in place the hygiene measures necessary, hopes to resume partial activity on Monday, according to the Reuters news agency. In France, the Airbus factories in Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, Stelia (100% subsidiary of Airbus) in Méaulte, Airbus Helicopters in Marignane, as well as the Airbus Defense & Space sites in the Paris region and Toulouse, are thus concerned. .
Activity will however slow down. It is a " very partial return to activity ," said the union CFE-CGC to AFP. In Toulouse, around 10% of staff (around a thousand people) are expected between Monday and Tuesday on the assembly lines of the A320, A330 and A350 families, and at the Airbus delivery center, according to this union . Employees working in shifts should perform six-hour shifts so as not to have to cross paths once their working time is over, and allow time to clean the tools, workstations and changing rooms, explains Françoise Vallin, CFE-CGC coordinator within the Airbus group.
Armor Lux restarts its sewing machines to make masks
As of Monday, the thirty seamstresses of Armor Lux will return to work. The ready-to-wear brand based in Quimper, in Finistère, decided to relaunch its machines to make masks, after having stopped them on Friday. 3000 pieces should leave the workshop every day, anticipates Jean-Guy Le Floc'h, the boss of Armor Lux. Its employees will work in a refurbished workshop: “ We have removed the workstations, disinfected the machines. We take all the usual precautions , ”he assures the regional daily Ouest Ouest.
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In construction, some construction sites should resume this week
Construction workers are also expected to return to work in the coming days. At the end of a tense week between building professionals, who considered it untenable to continue the construction sites while the population had to remain confined, and the government, which urged companies to continue their activity deemed " essential " to the country's economy , common ground was found on Saturday between several ministries (Ecological transition, Economy, City, Work) and three professional building organizations (FFB, Capeb and FNTP).
" Reorganizations " and " adjustments to practices " could allow the continuation of the activity, write these actors in a joint press release, published on Saturday. “Appropriate procedures ” for respecting barrier gestures and distance between employees will be imposed. A “ guide to good practice ”, validated by the government, will be distributed by professionals. " The major owners at the national level and the prefects at the local level will coordinate and prioritize the sites to be continued or revived, " said the press release. " Particular attention will be paid to construction sites at the homes of individuals when they are present ", indicate the federations and the ministries.
Despite this agreement, the CGT Construction-Bois-Aménagement called on Saturday workers in the sector to " stay confined to (them) ", except for some activities deemed essential such as the manufacture of coffins, or the maintenance of nuclear power plants. For its part, the Order of Architects advocates an activity reduced to " minimum service of general interest ", to " meet emergency needs in individuals and in public service buildings ".
While in Italy non-essential businesses close
In reverse, in Italy, the country most affected by the coronavirus, the president of the Italian Council Giuseppe Conte announced Saturday that all the companies had to close until April 3, except those essential to the supply chains of the country. Namely: supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, post office, essential public services and transport.