Surrounded, will the employees of winter sports resorts refractory to the vaccine lay down their arms? In recent days, the vast majority of seasonal workers without a health pass have made an appointment for a first dose, according to ski lift employers. The reduction to twenty-four hours of the validity of the Covid-19 detection tests associated with the obligation of the health pass for skiing overcame their reluctance. According to union estimates, the rate of unvaccinated varies from 10% to 30% depending on the stations.
They hoped to get through the season with bi-weekly testing funded by the resorts. Now the same are ready to be vaccinated “Constrained and forced”, according to the terms used on the union side as employers. “The subject is in the process of resolving itself for almost all of our employees”, assures Laurent Reynaud, general delegate of the ski areas of France.
“Inability to work”
“Subjecting employees to a daily test seems completely unrealistic, believes Julien Mairot, director of the Manigod resort (Haute-Savoie). Those who are not vaccinated should know that they are now unable to work in the tourism industry. ”
Unless you present recent proof of recovery from Covid-19, it takes at least four weeks after the first injection to obtain your health pass. What augurs a difficult organization during the Christmas holidays, especially as appointments are hard to obtain in vaccination centers, stormed for a third dose. “A notice period would put oil in the wheels”, believes Mr. Reynaud, referring to “Discussions” with the Ministry of Labor.
Among the decision-makers of French skiing, some now regret that the health pass was not imposed from the outset.
However, there will remain a residual proportion of opponents to vaccination. “A candidate told me again on Monday that it was out of the question to be vaccinated, relieves Frédéric Gravier, at the head of the Chalmazel (Loire) resort, in the Massif Central. Elders, with us for a very long time, also refuse the vaccine. “ They can then be placed in positions without contact with customers. But this option does not present itself for the first aid pisteurs, the profession most resistant, in the general opinion, to vaccination.
Among the decision-makers of French skiing, some now regret that the health pass was not imposed from the outset. “We are tearing our hair out on the eve of the opening, with overcrowded vaccination centers. The government should have assumed its responsibilities in September, and must now impose the compulsory vaccine ”, considers Jean-Luc Boch, mayor (LR) of La Plagne and president of France Montagnes.