‘The right to disconnect is essential to safeguard workers’ - Casa

12.02.2020 15:55

‘The right to disconnect is essential to safeguard workers’ - Casa

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Views expressed here are the views of the national delegation and do not always reflect the views of the group as a whole
Quaestor David Casa addressing the European Parliament hemicycle.
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“The right for workers to disconnect should be an important consideration in the European Commission’s review of the Occupational Health & Safety Strategy. This is essential to safeguard workers and their rights in today’s world, in which technology is changing the way we work, study and train.” Member of the European Parliament David Casa said this as he addressed the European Parliament during the debate on ‘a Social Europe in a Digital World.’ The right to disconnect is a modern concept which provides that employees are not expected to reply to emails and answer calls related to work, when they are at home and outside of office hours.

In his speech, MEP Casa, who is a Quaestor of the European Parliament, referred to the Work Life Balance Directive, which he successfully negotiated on behalf of the European Parliament. “We have introduced the right to request flexible working arrangements. This, together with other measures, will contribute to ensuring that citizens can better balance their work and caring responsibilities.”

The Work Life Balance Directive, which was signed into European law last June, will enable more women to enter and stay in the labour market, as well as act to reduce the employment, pay and pension gaps.

Mr Casa, who is a member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, insisted that when negotiating new laws, the institutions should be attentive to new risks resulting from being constantly connected and constantly reachable. “Technology has made our life much easier, but we should be cognisant of the new challenges that such advancement also creates. We must always ensure that new and modern technology lead to a better, and not a worse, quality of life. And we must be vigilant in identifying and addressing new threats to workers,” concluded David Casa.

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The EPP Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 187 Members from all EU Member States

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