Only a tenth of the total number of workers in Serbia has the opportunity to work from home, although most employers would be willing to organize their work in this way for the sake of numerous savings and benefits.
The fact is, however, that many activities and jobs cannot be transferred to teleworking on a large scale, points out the sociologist, Dr. Nada Novakovic, a research associate at the Institute of Social Sciences in Belgrade.
Therefore, these conditions are more suitable for employers because many believe that in this way workers get more insecurity, new costs, a race to keep their jobs and more intensive work. This is often followed by problems in the family and household, which mostly affect employees in poor housing and material condition, with more children and dependent household members and those who are on the margins of society – the elderly and the incomeless, the disabled, single parents and members of marginalized groups.
Dr. Novakovic believes that Covid 19 brought real chaos into our lives and work relations, that the sphere of work was changed, but also the way of family life. According to her, especially the changes in education and health have had multiple and lasting effects on the behavior and life of almost all family members.
– The epidemic is a real danger for the employees, but also a smokescreen that covers the intensified struggle of the capitalist class and all hired classes and strata – says an associate of the Institute of Social Sciences.
She emphasizes that the state of emergency, introduced during the epidemic of Covid 19, basically violated the basic provisions of the Labor Law, because according to that regulation, work from home is a rarity and is contracted between the employer and the worker.
– On that occasion, the employer is obliged to determine the exact length of working hours, daily, weekly and annual leave, provide funds for work, bear part of the costs and pay that work fairly. In a state of emergency, most of the employee’s rights were annulled, and the employer dictated the working conditions. In our case, it is obliged to be available at all times, which makes working hours undefined, ie almost all day long.
Ranka Savic, president of the Association of Free and Independent Trade Unions, has a similar opinion. In her opinion, in order to work from home, it must first be precisely regulated by regulations.
– The unions have already asked the Ministry of Labor to deal with this issue – she says. – Problems that arose in practice during the state of emergency point us to such a conclusion. The current Labor Law recognizes work outside the employer’s premises, but not work from home.
It happened, she claims, that the boss did not reimburse the workers for the costs of paper or toner for the printer, that in the evening he thought that some work should be done, many did not pay their phone bills… At first glance, all these are trifles, but they are very important so as not to infringe on workers ’rights.
– The first thing that needs to be determined by the amendments to the Labor Law is working hours, so that it would not happen that the working day lasts indefinitely – Savic points out. – For the employee, the job can be relaxed, but only if these shortcomings are regulated first.
When he does not come to the company, the employee does not even communicate with colleagues, not only professionally, but also privately. According to Dr. Novakovic, the epidemic quickly, violently and in the long run annulled numerous workers’ rights, but also human rights in general – freedom of movement, the right to treatment, education, work and a life worthy of a human being.
– If the employee has poor housing conditions, and most of them are like that, children of small and school age, and even family members who are taken special care of due to illness, old age, etc., then working from home is an additional burden – Dr. Novakovic thinks. – His productivity is in question, and the profits are only on the side of the employer. He saves on transportation, investments in cleaning business premises, means of work (from mobile phone, computer, to paying for the Internet). Therefore, the initiative and the request of the workers that the employer pays them a part of the newly incurred costs is completely justified. In Switzerland, it is like paying a symbolic amount for rent. In other countries, there are no similar solutions at work.
The example of Germany, which is preparing a law that will regulate this issue, shows how seriously some countries are engaged in work from home. So far, no one in Serbia is thinking of regulating something further – if a state of emergency is introduced again, the same, incomplete and incomplete solutions that we had in March and April will probably be applied, Novosti reports.
