Criticism from the left of the home office regulation proposal
Published: Wednesday, Dec 11th 2024, 11:10
Updated At: Thursday, Dec 12th 2024, 00:59
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A new proposal by a National Council committee for new regulations on teleworking and working from home has met with majority approval. Strong criticism and rejection come from the left-wing political camp.
The proposal by the National Council's Committee for Economic Affairs and Taxation (WAK-N) aims to implement the parliamentary initiative by FDP President Thierry Burkart "More freedom to organize working from home".
Specifically, the maximum period of time during which work can be performed is to be increased from 14 to 17 hours and occasional work assignments on Sundays are to be permitted. The minimum rest period is also to be reduced from eleven to nine hours. Selective amendments to the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) are also planned.
The bill is supported by the SVP, FDP, Center, GLP parties as well as the political alliance "die Plattform" and the Swiss Employers' Association (SAV). The SP, the Greens and the umbrella organization Freikirchen.ch say no. This is clear from their statements. The consultation ended on Tuesday.
Labor law is outdated
For the SVP, the flexible labor market is an important driver of Switzerland's economic strength. The proposed bill preserves this flexibility and adapts employment law to current circumstances.
This is also the view of the center. The labor law that has been in force since 1964 is still tailored to fixed working hours, industrial working methods and production processes. Digitalization has brought far-reaching changes. Working from home is widespread in the service sector and has experienced an upswing since the coronavirus pandemic.
Amendments to the Swiss Code of Obligations
The SVP, the Center Party and "Die Plattform" also support the amendments to the CO to increase legal certainty in connection with teleworking and working from home. However, "Die Plattform" warns that the potential flexibilization of work should not be at the expense of health.
The FDP also welcomes the concerns of the proposal. It acknowledges that all points of the parliamentary initiative have been included in the consultation draft, but considers the current draft to be unnecessarily complicated. The FDP rejects the variant with the amendment to the CO. The SAV also decisively rejects the variant amending the CO.
The GLP supports the implementation proposal and rejects the minority motions for non-adoption and for the deletion of the provision on Sunday working.
More pressure on workers' health
The Greens see great potential for a more socially responsible and environmentally friendly way of working. Teleworking and working from home can reduce mobility emissions and relieve the burden on transport infrastructure, as well as contributing to a better work-life balance. However, there are also psychosocial risks, such as the increasing mixing of leisure and work and the failure to take rest breaks.
According to the Greens, these points are not taken into account in the bill. The WAK-N bill ultimately represents a one-sided liberalization of employment law in favour of employers, at the expense of employees' health and wallets. It lacks measures to strengthen psychosocial health. The Greens therefore reject the proposal.
The SP agrees with this. The party sees no need for new regulations. For specific sectors or groups of employees, solutions could be found through collective employment contracts. The current labor law is one of the most flexible of all industrialized countries. It is perfectly capable of enabling employees who wish to telework to do so.
The umbrella organization Freikirchen.ch rejects the proposed exceptions to the ban on Sunday work. Sunday is protected as a non-working day under labor law. Sunday is associated with central values that are of particular importance both socially and religiously.
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