In Toulouse, Airbus takes safety seriously: a painter was fired for forgetting his harness

After six days of strike action, Airbus paint shop crews returned to work this Wednesday morning. As soon as the dismissal of Corentin, an aircraft painter on the A320 assembly line, was announced on November 2, his colleagues mobilized to protest the decision. “We told ourselves that tomorrow it could be anyone,” admits one of them.

Having graduated from Airbus High School and holding a permanent five-year contract with the aircraft company, the young man was punished for “deliberately refusing to comply with Airbus safety regulations that are designed to ensure the safety of our employees.” and our products,” according to Airbus management.

Fatigue linked to “fourth consecutive Saturday of overtime after two weeks of night work”

On September 23, the worker was found guilty of failing to fasten his seat belt while on the wing of an airplane. “But as soon as the manager told him, he went to put it on,” says Patrice Thébault, a representative of the central union CGT. “This is a tiring, demanding and risky position and the employee was working overtime for the fourth Saturday in a row after two weeks of night work. »

It was more of a fatigue-related error that would have required termination or a warning, he said. “An employee never comes to work to expose himself to danger. » The trade unionist further questions the end-of-year increase in pace, which entails working long hours to achieve set targets.

“Airbus insists that safety is their priority, but in their opinion it is a cultural issue: blaming employees without taking into account our working conditions,” insists Patrice Thébault. The strike occurred a few days before the professional elections on November 21.