Austria is in lockdown but its supermarkets are anything but. Ensuring that people have safe access to essential goods is central to our collective efforts to contain COVID-19. That’s why GPA-djp trade union and businesses are together ramping up containment measures in supermarkets across the country.
Safe shops for all
A new agreement has entered into force on Monday 23 March which lays out the plan. It places a major focus on boosting sanitary provisions with extraordinary measures. From infrastructural improvements like installing breath protection plexiglass panes at the check-out till, to the provision of protective equipment, the agreement takes meaningful steps towards making shops safe for all. In addition, customer access times have been adjusted and measures have been put in place to ensure safe distances are respected.
Protecting those most at risk has been another pillar of effective contagion efforts and the agreement lays out concrete measures to apply that principle across the retail sector. It provides paid leave for pregnant workers for the duration of the crisis and ensures that workers with pre-existing conditions are not in direct customer contact (full summary of measures below).
