a casino provider pinned to Angers

By Yves Treca-Durand Posted today at 11:31

Time to Reading 2 min.

The judge of summary of the court of high instance of Angers has decided. The employment of animators in the Geant Casino La Roseraie hypermarket on Sunday afternoons, starting at 12.30 pm, is illegal. In his decision, made public Thursday, October 17, the magistrate and condemns the Marseille company Evenement, under its trade name Etic, to cease its Angevin activity on Sunday afternoon under penalty of paying 5,000 euros per employee illegally employed.

"I'm amazed that in France we can not work anymore", wonders Geoffroy de Peretti, boss of Event, which employs the four animators concerned. The labor inspectorate had noted during several observation visits that they had "Real and essential activity managing the passage of customers to the store's automatic cash registers and the management of products and baskets in the checkout area" since the controversial opening of the store on August 25th.

At the hearing on October 3, which did not directly target the Casino Group, the lawyer of the CFDT, M^e Helene Signoret, added: " The principle of Sunday rest is very clear and the will of Casino is equally clear: to circumvent the rules and public social order. "

Etic's counsel stated that the role of the facilitators was limited to "Promotional campaign for a mobile application" limited in time. M^e Pierre Arnoux had added: "To say that they replace the cashiers is false and archifal. The automatic boxes make it possible to operate the store. We can regret it, take offense, have a moral judgment, but today we make law. To say that the company Event is not allowed to make its hostesses work on Sunday afternoon is a heresy. If we had done this animation on the parking of the store, the labor inspection would she come to see us? I do not think so. "

The unions are rather satisfied

An argument that the judge of interim relief had not retained, as well as all the exceptions to Sunday work raised by the lawyer. This decision does not mark a stop at these Sunday openings. The Casino group, which validated the opening of the stores of Gap (Hautes-Alpes) and Chaumont (Haute-Marne) this Sunday, October 13, repeats that "The judgment as a whole does not concern Geant Casino or the Angers hypermarket. It only concerns the company Etic », as indicated by a spokesperson for the group Western Mail. "This device was designed to accompany the first Sundays customers who are not used to automatic checkout."

Sunday, October 20, the hypermarket of Angers – which now records a thousand customers in the afternoon – should be open again, but without facilitators. Only security guards will ensure the security of the store. Customers who encounter problems during checkout will be asked to call an assistance number.

In spite of this, the seven trade union organizations that had lodged civil claims in this emblematic case (they will each receive 500 euros in respect of their moral damages) are rather satisfied. They ask Etic "Not to outbid and comply with the law". They also enjoin Casino "To assume social responsibility" by proposing to the four animators of Etic "To join the staff of the store".

Thursday evening, Mr. Peretti, who also employs the animators in the shops of Gap and Chaumont, did not know yet whether he would appeal this decision.