Eventos

Teleworking was not a pressing issue of contention between employees and employers before the Covid pandemic. In the European Union, in 2018, only 4.82% of employees worked from home every day or almost every day and 5.35% at least once a week (Eurostat, 2024). In the US, teleworking covered about 6% of the workforce before the pandemic. 

Schedule flexibility and "remote" work were specific to certain fields of activity (e.g. ITC, consulting) or were offered by companies to increase commitment and motivation at work. 

The pandemic has changed this paradigm and forced employees to work from home or from locations that protect their health for a significant period of time. In the US, in 2020, more than 50% of employees worked from home, and in the EU about 12%. 

Due to health restrictions, many workers have had to work remotely, most often from home. The restrictions are no longer in force, but a significant number of jobs are carried out through remote work. Also during the pandemic, it was discovered that this type of work was not sufficiently regulated. Changes have been made to the legislation. It is not clear whether these legal provisions are respected, whether the employment relationships are those stipulated by law, what happens when remote work is neither safe nor healthy. Are there mechanisms through which employees can report non-compliant situations? Who defends the rights of employees? The authorities? Trade unions? How easily do remote workers unionize? 

The subject is certainly one of great interest for social dialogue. Because, on the one hand, the unionization rate is low for this category of workers, because there is a lack of detailed information and reports on the situation in the field of safety and health at work, and because the prospect of a social dialogue with representatives of teleworkers is desirable. It needs to be established to what extent employees are interested and aware of the possible consequences of the lack of acceptable health and safety conditions at work. And who can defend the rights of these workers through negotiation and social dialogue.