Unions call for more flexibility for workers as commuting costs surge for drivers.
Forsa and the Financial Services Union have called on employers to be more flexible about staff working from home as commuting costs surge for hundreds of thousands of drivers.
Calls on employers to be more flexible about staff remote working is not pushback at large financial services head of Financial Services Union John O’Connell.
Speaking to host Anton Savage on Newstalk Breakfast Monday, Mr O’Connell said these calls were simply "a reflection of what [employees] are going through at the moment with travel costs going through the roof.”
“It's almost on a daily basis now you can see the petrol pumps, the price going up.
“We're calling on employers to work with staff and unions to take account of that as flexible working is a real meaningful way of telling your employees you understand what they're going through.”
He told Newstalk that the statistics on remote working were unanswerable given the CSO reporting over a million people active in remote work and the CIPD’s identification of employers wanting to give more flexibility due to commuter costs and the impact of housing costs.
He called for a “balance” to be struck for hybrid work.
“It has to work for the employer”, he said.
“It has to work for the customers, but it also has to work for the staff. The wise employers are doing the right thing, using flexible working to attract and support and retain staff.”
“I think government could do something as well," he added.
“I think they can give a bit more certainty to people in remote working situations. We equally support a Labour Party initiative where they're looking to amend the Employment Act of 2018, which would give people a bit more certainty. It would be very similar to the arrangement around zero contract hours.”
Changes to AIB’s hybrid work model attracted attention and criticism and attention a few months ago as staff were informed they were expected to work in the office at least three days a week.
The tightest model across Irish banks, the decision had been slammed as a “a solution to a problem that didn’t exist” and “something this serious that affects staff lives”.
Main Image: Young woman is hardworking in her office.
