Further liberalization of working time is not a necessity
The National Council's Economic Affairs Committee wants to carry out clarifications on the softening of working time recording by May. Syndicom has had good experience with flexible solutions based on social partnership and is calling on companies in the ICT sector to regulate the issue of working hours on a social partnership basis.
No sooner had the Federal Council relaxed the regulations on working time recording a year ago than the conservative members of the National Council and the Council of States submitted motions for further relaxation. Syndicom, the trade union for media and communication, has since implemented the Federal Council's new ordinance through social partnership, including with Swisscom and Sunrise. Employees in management positions and with a gross income of CHF 120,000 or more can waive the recording of working hours. This regulation gives companies sufficient flexibility without fundamentally calling into question the recording of working hours.
The current regulations on maximum working hours and the recording of working hours offer both protection and flexibility in implementation. For example, working time recording can be waived within the framework of a collective labor agreement (CLA). Syndicom is open to innovative working time models that meet the specific requirements of the ICT sector, provided that the health and safety of employees is safeguarded. This includes measures to reconcile work and family life, guaranteed rest periods and the fulfillment of companies' duty of care.
Good education is more important than maximum flexibility
Further liberalization of working hours under the guise of digitalization is not expedient and is merely ideological. The priority for the economy is that education at all levels is geared towards the challenges of digitalization. Here, too, measures are required from both the legislator and the social partners. (SDA)
