Now is the time to transform our work culture permanently – Currie

New working practises due to COVID-19 have given us a chance to transform our work culture permanently, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Dublin West Senator, Emer Currie, is the Fine Gael Seanad Spokesperson for Employment Affairs and Work/Life Balance.

Senator Currie said: “Covid-19 has presented us with the opportunity to transform our work culture permanently and flexibility is key.

“We must find solutions to define the lines between work and home that have blurred dramatically recently, but the Government must, in addition to their Programme for Government commitment to bring forward proposals on the right to disconnect, also focus on the big picture of what the majority of workers now want. And that is permanent access to flexibility, like remote working, with all the proper safeguards. If we lose the chance to transform our work culture permanently, we will regret it.

“Thankfully the Government is ambitious about change and is currently working on an interdepartmental national remote work strategy to be launched by the end of the year. Flexible and remote work can democratise workplaces and regenerate local and rural communities, which is something I would have thought other parties would be supportive of.

“As well as proposals on the right to disconnect that the Tánaiste has already committed to, the Government is working on the right to request remote work. It has committed to continuing the rollout of a network of co-working hubs nationally and put significant money behind it in the budget.

“Through organisations like ‘Grow Remote’ which is funded by the government, training is available for workers and managers to transition to a ‘Remote First’ culture. More money than ever has been allocated to developing a new Rural Strategy to reflect the shifting dynamics and the growing demand to live and work wherever you want.

“The national remote work strategy is an exciting and new approach to address work/life balance that is much bigger than individual party Bills solely focused on the right to disconnect. As part of it, I urge the Government to think about a work ecosystem that encourages connectivity between available spaces in co-working spaces, employers and local communities and to make remote work more visible.

“While I welcome the work of other parties to find solutions, both the Sinn Féin and Labour Bills reinforce the old status quo rather than challenging it. Rather than focusing on the problems caused by working from home during a pandemic, we must examine the opportunities remote work presents.  Rather than tinkering around the edges of an outdated model of work that doesn’t support modern or family life we must focus on systemic change.

“I would also be concerned about the idea in Labour’s Bill to make flat rate expenses to cover remote working costs mandatory at the moment. This would be a significant additional expense for employers when most are struggling with reduced revenues and are still paying fixed costs each month for offices not being used. We want the time to come when they will see the potential of remote working in terms of reduced costs. But the last thing we want right now is to put employers off remote working by adding an additional expense on top of them without proper consultation.

“Instead I have consistently called for a full review of the individual e-working tax relief which has limited return for workers and an awareness campaign targeting employers. The message from the Government should go out to employers that if you can afford to pay an allowance to your employees to help with winter utilities, you should.”