The government has announced that it will end the mask requirement in non-essential trade from March 5th. Wearing a mask is then only necessary in public transport, supermarkets and the like, with the exception of Vienna. The works councils do not agree with this and in an open letter call for an end to the mask requirement for the food trade as well.
The letter is addressed to Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), Minister of Health Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) and Minister of Labor Martin Kocher (ÖVP) and was signed by the chairmen of the Spar, Interspar, Billa, Penny, Lidl and MaxiMarkt works councils. The demand is also supported by the Spar management.
“Clapping is all well and good, but…”
The letter states that the responsibility towards customers and colleagues is taken very seriously, but that the unequal treatment compared to other areas cannot be understood. The works councils are calling for regions in which “everything is possible again in non-essential trade, at concerts, major events and in night catering without distance rules and without a mask” to end the mask requirement for employees in the food trade too. According to the letter, retail workers often feel let down by the government: “While clapping is all well and good, it in no way reduces the mental and physical stress we are exposed to on a daily basis.”
They demand “equality” with the rest of the trade and a lifting of the mask requirement at the same time. In Vienna, where there are supposed to be stricter rules for all trade than in the rest of the country, maintaining the mask requirement in the food trade is “understandable”, said Sabine Eiblmaier, chairwoman of the Spar works council, when asked by APA.
Source: Nachrichten
