(9 June 2011) EPSU affiliate CGT-FNME warns of the danger of exploitation of foreign workers at the construction site of the nuclear power station in Flamanville. The information confirms the demands of EPSU to also include the risks of subcontracting in the nuclear stress test
The union puts French electricity company EDF on the spot and makes clear that its refusal to take action and sanction Bouygues, the company building the power station, gives that company a licence to kill. In the attached press release is a list of accidents that underlines the behaviour of Bouygues. It also reports a fatal accident. Several investigations of the nuclear security authorities have confirmed the position of the union.
The list further makes clear that Bouygues values a person at 35.000 Euros. It is the money it will pay out in case a fatal accident happens to a Polish worker. Foreign workers make up around 1/3 of the workforce of 3.300 people at the site. As the construction nears its final phase, security issues become predominant and the company's bad treatment of workers could lead to delays and construction errors. EDF is asked to exercise a better control over Bouygues' activities.
It is not the first time that Bouygues has been involved in such practices. It has sought to prevent workers speaking out on security issues at the Finnish construction site of a nuclear power plant in 2008
For the press release of the union:
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