According to the unions, the project is more Orwell than Pasteur. By presenting its brand new “anti-Covid” box, the management of Essity (hygiene products) created a huge outcry among employees. It would be a sort of case with a strap, which all employees would wear around their necks. Whenever they found themselves within 2 meters of a colleague (the safety distances in times of Covid), the box would trigger an alarm of 85 decibels.
” That’s not all, details Christine Duguet, trade unionist CFDT, wind head against the project. With each interaction a little too close, the box would record data. Management presents this to us as a health instrument: as each employee would have a numbered box, it would be easier to detect, then contact cases, if a person tested positive for Covid. But I don’t believe this argument. “
The mask worn permanently
Contacted by Humanity, management ensures that discussions have been initiated “With staff representatives concerning a device (box) aimed at limiting as much as possible any risk of virus transmission. This device would be without a geolocation system and not linked to personal information ”.
Not convinced, the unions argue the few number of cases of Covid in the company. “We have been living with the health crisis for almost a year, and we have only had 5 positive cases, assures Christine Duguet. In a factory with 500 employees, this is not much, especially since we have not yet identified any contamination: all the contact cases of the 5 people in question came out negative from the tests. We wear the mask all the time, from the moment we walk through the factory gate until the end of the day. “ Before concluding : “For me, the only reason for this unit is to police the employees. Otherwise, what’s the point of knowing that 2 employees have passed each other within 2 meters for X minutes? ”