Brussels – Saving energy by working from home? Yes, but not at the expense of workers. For this reason, the European Union must urgently finalise legislation to regulate teleworking. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) submits the memorandum to the Berlaymont Building in light of the energy crisis triggered by the US and Israel’s war on Iran, and the calls by the Energy Commissioner, Dan Jørgensen, taken up in the International Energy Agency’s plan , to save energy by working from home. “Although this call may help reduce energy consumption, it must not come at the expense of workers’ rights nor shift the costs onto those who are already bearing the brunt of rising energy prices,” warn the trade unions. They elaborate: “The Commission must now follow up on this appeal by urgently finalising legislation to regulate teleworking and guarantee workers’ right to disconnect, having launched the second phase of consultation last summer.”
Trade unions point out that, according to the Commission’s research, “those who work from home are exposed to greater risks to their mental and physical health due to the ‘risk of work intensification, overtime, increased availability, and work-life conflict.'” In particular, according to the latest European Working Conditions Survey, “those who regularly work from home are at least four times more likely to work during their free time than those who work at their employer’s premises, and women are significantly more exposed to this risk than men.”
In this context, the ETUC is calling for the forthcoming legislation on quality work to include provisions ensuring that workers’ right not to be contacted outside agreed working hours is upheld. It also calls for employers to be held responsible for all costs associated with teleworking, including electricity bills. Furthermore, according to European trade unions, teleworkers must be guaranteed the same rights as on-site workers, and steps must be taken to ensure that teleworking does not exacerbate the burden of unpaid care work on women or isolate vulnerable groups. It does not end there: the ETUC wants monitoring by employers to be limited to lawful and proportionate purposes, and for invasive tools to be banned for this reason too, whilst collective agreements and the GDPR, the EU’s privacy regulation, are fully respected.
“The option to work from home can be beneficial for both workers and employers, especially in the current situation, but only if it is voluntary for workers and respects their rights,” states the ETUC General Secretary, Esther Lynch, who is convinced that “No worker should have to bear the costs of working from home” and that “it is right that governments and employers should commit to saving energy and controlling prices, but employers must cover all related expenses”.
The ETUC secretary refers to the experience of remote working during the Covid-19 pandemic and stresses that, “having once again urged everyone to work from home, the Commission now has a responsibility to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated, by introducing common-sense rules for teleworking.” For this reason, she concludes, “any introduction or expansion of telework must be negotiated with the trade unions to safeguard workers’ rights and ensure fair conditions.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
