companies prepare permits so that employees can go to work

It could be said that the measure announced by the President of the Nation, Alberto Fernández, about a stricter quarantine in the fight against coronavirus, with restrictions to circulate on the streets.

But some companies were caught off guard when their affected employees on Friday essential tasks and not reached by the measure of social isolation and obligatory, they had to verify in some way that they were preparing to take public transport to go to their places of work.

Some came out with login credentials to the company or even the last paycheck, to show the security forces that today guard the quarantine throughout the country, that they are part of the companies with tasks necessary for the continuity of the economy and the basic dignity of people.

Between the exceptions to the new rules that it officially installed this Friday on decree 297/2020 (of Preventive and Mandatory Social Isolation, there are of course the security forces and firefighters, but also plant personnel from companies that produce food, hygiene and drug products, the oil and gas guard service, employees of businesses that sell these products , etc.

They will be able to use, with the current regulations on prevention of contagion, public transport to arrive as usual to fulfill their task and thus avoid shortages of the population of basic goods and services.

To ensure that people affected by essential tasks are the only ones authorized on public roads and that the rest of the population remains in their homes, the The Ministry of Labor published the regulations on the certificates and permits that excepted persons must carry to travel by public transport or circulate by their own means.

The resolution aims to reduce the number of people who use public transport on a daily basis, and specify the mechanisms so that it can go about fulfilling its task by “essential qualified personnel” in the supply of necessary goods and services“

Meanwhile, it also circulated in companies linked to agricultural and agro-industrial production, a model of sworn declaration distributed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, with which companies in the sector can certify that their employees work in certain agricultural establishments, fulfilling essential tasks. With this document, which bears the signature of the producer and the personal data of the employee, the need to circulate to and from the workplace could be certified.

The first day of mandatory quarantine

On this first day of the quarantine, which will last until March 31 inclusive, sources in the food industry told iProfessional that in most of the plants, the personnel that are not included in the special licenses determined by the Government (for people at risk of contracting the coronavirus, pregnant women, parents in charge of school-age children, etc.) arrive normally to work.

“Some companies have remise payback or have already organized a system where there are employees who go to find colleagues with the car, and the others arrived by their own means. working normally and with all the security measures in the case, including taking a temperature before entering the facilities, “they said from a company that owns leading food brands nationwide.

YPF sources also clarified that the beach players of the brand arrived without problems at their jobs this Friday and the service stations operate normally. In addition, well and reservoir personnel usually arrive at the workplace with YPF transport regularly, in addition to the administrative area personnel who telework for the duration of the quarantine.

Meanwhile, from early in the morning the YPF crisis committee, that has been taking the coronavirus prevention measures throughout the company, to put together the protocols that will be applied from now on in each case. It is worth remembering that the company is essential in the scheme designed by the national government to avoid fuel shortages throughout the country, and also to regulate market prices.

On Friday YPF had announced that it will guarantee its operations “through a emergency scheme“to ensure the supply of energy, which includes the production of oil and gas, refineries, the dispatch and sale of fuels, as well as electricity generation and the production of essential chemical products.

For this he decided “ensure the activities that cannot be interrupted so that they are attended with the smallest possible endowment and will progressively interrupt all those that are not critical so that they remain in a safe condition”.

Essential employees may continue to travel on public transportation

After the President’s nightly announcement, which had the support of the entire opposition arc in addition to justicialism, this Friday morning the various authorities began to work to implement mechanisms that allow greater control of the movement of people in the public road.

In the city of Buenos Aires, one of those with the largest number of confirmed cases of coronavirus, the deputy head of the Buenos Aires Government, Diego Santilli, said that from the City they were “asking these sectors that issue certificates explaining where these people work; there are particular cases where all of us together with the Police are going to take note; Whoever is traveling on the street must be able to explain perfectly where they are going and why “.

But even before the national authorities or from different jurisdictions, business chambers and crisis committees within the companies that provide essential services or produce basic necessities spoke, they were already designing the strategies for this scenario, taking as an example the models applied by the countries previously quarantined.

Among the food the one that took the post was the Coordinator of the Food Products Industries (COPAL), which sent member companies a model certificate that those who want to circulate on the way between home and work must carry to continue with the production task. “COPAL intervened to harmonize and collaborate with the coordination of the movement of people on public roads”, informed this medium from the entity that brings together the main food manufacturers in the country.

In that document, which they called “safe passage” They must consist of a letterhead from the company that certifies that the person (with full name and ID) works in the food and beverage industry and provides a service that is essential and critical for the development of the activities of Argentine society.

For example, Arcor, one of the largest exponents of this industry in the country, gathered this Friday morning the authorities who are handling prevention measures within the company and assured that “progress is being made in the line of granting a certificate and at the same time arbitrating the means so that the collaborators can move to the plants “.

In another agro-industrial company with national capitals, they affirmed that they were preparing to comply with the provisions made by the Ministry of Labor, which requires companies to hand over “to personnel who must continue to provide tasks a certification to be displayed in case of requirement of police controls, which must include the name, telephone number and data that allow proper identification of the company. “

The same panorama is seen in the companies that manufacture mass consumption beverages. From Coca-Cola FEMSA they said about it: “We have as a priority the health and safety of our collaborators, our customers and the entire community. In line with what the federal government has decreed, in the sense that it is necessary for the food industry and drinks continue supplying the population with its products during this delicate moment, we keep our operation ensuring among our collaborators the prevention and hygiene measures that allow us to guarantee safe conditions for them and for our value chain. According to the measures ordered by the government, our collaborators have the corresponding certificates that allow them to go to work centers “.

Hygiene and cleaning companies are “in the same boat” and also have normal production continuity guaranteed at your local plants.

“In line with the measures announced by the National Government, and with the objective of satisfying the needs of our clients and consumers in these times of crisis where hygiene and cleaning products are of utmost importance, we are delivering the corresponding certificates to our employees so that they can move around and thus guarantee the continuity of production. We are committed to doing everything in our power, always prioritizing the health and safety of our teams, “they told iProfessional from one of the leading companies in the sector.

And there were also media that, to the extent that people who work in audiovisual, radio and graphic communication services constitute one of the exceptions considered in the DNU published this Friday, they also issued certificates, also stressing that journalistic activity is protected by article 32 of the National Constitution.

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