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The left relaunches its attacks against Elisabeth Borne and the "layoff" of labor inspector Anthony Smith

2022-05-18T14:20:45.734Z


While she was Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne had validated the transfer of this labor inspector, sanctioned and today invested by the NUPES for the legislative elections in the Marne. But these criticisms from the left need to be qualified.


His name may mean something to you.

Firstly because Anthony Smith is a candidate in the legislative elections in the Marne, invested by the NUPES.

But above all because he is at the origin of a case which had shaken the first months of the mandate of Elisabeth Borne as Minister of Labor and which the opposition recalls frequently.

To discover

  • Legislative elections in your municipality: history, statistics, candidates and results

Read alsoLa Nupes, already first opponent of Elisabeth Borne

Since her appointment as head of government, the Left Union has indeed been bent on denouncing the record of the former Minister of Transport and then of Labour.

Opening to competition from the SNCF, reform of unemployment insurance but also “

layoff of inspector Anthony Smith

”, points the finger at Adrien Quatennens on Twitter.

A name also repeated by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who accuses Elisabeth Borne of having "

sent 200 kilometers from his home

" Anthony Smith.

Words that should in fact be qualified.

In March 2020, while France is confined, Anthony Smith is approached by the delegates of the corporate social committee (CSE) of Aradopa, an association of home helpers.

As patients die of Covid-19 and home helpers are infected, the CSE alerts this labor inspector to the lack of means to protect workers.

But the inspection is made difficult.

Organization of work, management of equipment distributed, list of personnel exposed to Covid-19: the inspector is struggling to obtain answers from the association.

An opacity which pushes him to launch legal proceedings against Aradopa, so that its 300 employees are suitably equipped and protected against the virus.

A decision by Muriel Pénicaud

In the process, on April 15, 2020, Anthony Smith was laid off by his hierarchy "

as a precaution

".

The next day, the Ministry of Labor indicated in a press release that "

this decision comes following several facts considered to be at fault

", in particular to have "

enjoined employers to maintain conditions of activity that do not comply with the prescriptions of the health authorities

" .

and “

developed internal practices that do not comply with the applicable professional and ethical rules

”.

Read alsoLegislative: Does Jean-Luc Mélenchon have no chance of becoming Prime Minister?

On this date, Elisabeth Borne is not yet Minister of Labor and is not bound by this decision.

It was his predecessor, Muriel Pénicaud, who validated the sanction chosen by the director of human resources of the ministry, Pascal Bernard, with the help of the head of the General Directorate of Labor (DGT) at the time, Yves Struillou.

Elisabeth Borne only intervenes a few months later, on July 21, 2020, when Anthony Smith is summoned before a disciplinary commission in Paris.

She was then Minister of Labor for two weeks.

On August 17, Anthony Smith was transferred to Melun, 200 kilometers from his home.

Critical observations

But from September, Elisabeth Borne expressed reservations, in particular on the disciplinary report signed by Pascal Bernard and partly written by Yves Struillou.

According to an article in

Le Monde

dated September 12, 2020, it was following a meeting where Élisabeth Borne made “

critical observations

” against this work that Yves Struillou chose to submit his resignation.

The former Minister of Labor found, according to a source quoted in this article, that the report was “

neither done nor to be done

”.

A few weeks later, on October 1, 2020, Anthony Smith's sanction was adjusted: he was transferred to the Meuse, closer to his initial work.

At the time, the unions took credit for this arrangement, on the grounds that their mobilization had enabled

the ministry to “

step back ”.

Read alsoÉlisabeth Borne, the new leader of a majority to regain

In short, the decision to suspend the activity of the labor inspector was not an initiative of Elisabeth Borne, insofar as she was not yet Minister of Labor at that time.

On the other hand, it was she who was in post at the time of Anthony Smith's automatic transfer to 200 kilometers from his home.

It was also she who, a few weeks later, questioned the disciplinary report which led to this decision before granting a transfer closer to Anthony Smith's home.

SEE ALSO -

Elisabeth Borne appointed Prime Minister: the reaction of Jean-Luc Mélenchon

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-05-18

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