Valeo has signed a majority Group-wide agreement with the CFE-CGC, CFDT and FO labour organisations, with the goal of ensuring protection for employees and allowing operations to be gradually resumed.
No mention is made of France’s traditionally more militant and influential CGT union, but the supplier maintains the deal aims to restart manufacture currently suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“These protective measures, which include daily body temperature checks, mandatory use of masks and cleaning of workstations at the beginning and end of every shift, go beyond all legal requirements,” said a Valeo statement.
“The measures are mandatory and will be applied systematically and consistently at all Valeo sites worldwide, whether in plants, R&D centres or head offices.”
A Solidarity Fund has also been introduced to compensate non-managerial staff currently subject to part-time working arrangements for lost pay and, more generally, to limit the use of part-time working arrangements for all categories of staff.
To constitute the fund, all managerial staff in France are contributing one day’s annual leave and a call has been launched for all employees to donate some of their annual leave in the same spirit of solidarity.
Valeo has also set up donations to the Fondation de France, to support French hospitals and research programmes focusing on the fight against Covid-19.
