Three major labor centers in Quebec unveil their inter-union teleworking policy model on Monday.
The 12-page document, accompanied by a teleworking agreement template, proposes “guidelines to avoid randomness and favoritism,” said the spokesperson for one of the central offices.
The trade union federations believe that teleworking must retain its voluntary character and that its authorization must be granted on the basis of objective and fair criteria applicable.
Developed by the CSN, the FTQ and the CSD, the proposed agreement first establishes the general principles of teleworking, and then describes the criteria according to which an authorization should be granted to the employee.
There follow clauses and parameters on the duration of the agreement, the telework schedule, its supervision, the equipment provided and the related costs, the characteristics of the telework place, health and safety, data protection.
“When the pandemic arrived and teleworking became a way of operating, as a union organization, we had to adjust,” explains CSN president Caroline Senneville. “We knew that in one form or another, it was something that would remain and that it would be part of our job as a union to equip our members on this. ”
The photo illustrating the cover page of the document also combines the typical conditions of teleworking: a wooden table, piles of documents, a cup of herbal tea, a laptop and a worker talking on the cell phone while participating in a videoconference.
“It is a guide to help with the negotiation”, specifies the president.
It’s a way of saying: let’s think together, so as not to do it in 150 different collective agreements.
Caroline Senneville, president of the CSN
The proposed agreement was prepared by labor relations experts, lawyers and specialists from the three centrals, without consultation or consultation with employer organizations.
“We brought together people in our federations to ask them: ‘How is it going on the ground? What are the fears of your members? What are the dangers ?” ”
The main concern expressed was inequity.
Most workers want to keep a telework component, but “in the field, people tell us: ‘the rules have to be fair’”.
Different issues
The main issues taken into consideration by the inter-union proposal relate to access to work equipment, ways of reporting work done remotely, IT security and ergonomics. “You can work on your kitchen chair for a week, but not for six months”, illustrates Caroline Senneville.
Even if the proposal is aimed primarily at unions, employers could find what they are looking for.
“We think it’s going down the ramp. It is not just a list of demands. This is really what an agreement could look like. For there to be an agreement, there must be two signatures at the bottom of the page. ”
The model presented by the union is a flexible proposition.
“The principles can be specified, modulated to meet the characteristics of the work environment,” says Mr.me Senneville.
“And the employer will arrive with his needs. It is then the negotiation game that begins. ”
The CSN itself faces the challenge of teleworking. “Indeed, we are in the same process with our employees,” admits the president.
“I am not saying that we will apply this policy. As with any employer, the clauses will have to be adapted to the specificities of the environment… and negotiated.
One thing is certain, she adds, teleworking is today an unavoidable and well-established reality.
“It’s like the microwave oven: once you’ve invented it, you can’t ‘uninvent’ it. ”