Union seeking Government response to challenges of home-working

02 July 2020


FSU has written to the Tánaiste seeking engagement on home-working protocol

Financial Services union has written to the Minister for Enterprise Leo Varadkar seeking engagement on a protocol for home-working.

The Union, which represents staff across banking and finance, will also be seeking engagement with employers and stakeholders in the sector. Among FSU priorities for home-workers are increased allowances, legislation on the right to disconnect, and a four-day working week.

The Union's protocol, "Making home-work work for all", sets out what the FSU sees as reasonable to "address the challenges of the new normal".

Commenting, FSU General Secretary John O'Connell said:

"Our protocol sets out what needs to be done to professionalise home-working, which has become the new normal for many. CSO figures that of those workers whose employment has been impacted by the pandemic, 34% have started remote working from home and 12% have increased their number of hours remote working from home. There is an urgent need to address the challenges which are now arising."

"The protocol lays out what needs to be done to address increased work intensity, introduce employee-led flexibility and high standards of health and safety for people working at home. We also want to ensure that employees have the right technology for the job, and appropriate allowances."

“The programme for government commits to facilitating and supporting remote working. However, we must ensure that staff working from home are fully supported in their roles. This is why we are seeking engagement with Government on our protocol. We hope to work in a positive way to address the challenges posed by home-working. “

Ends

For more information, contact Paul Dillon on 0876859446

About FSU

The FSU is Ireland’s leading union across banking and finance. We represent thousands of staff across the main retail banks, and we have members in more than 70 companies across the finance and fintech sectors. Our members are spread Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain. We are headquartered in Dublin and we also have a presence in Belfast. We are members of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and UNI Global finance union.

 

About the FSU home-working protocol

The full protocol can be found here