LABOUR-CHILE: Laws Needed to Regulate Telework

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

María Cecilia Espinosa

SANTIAGO, Mar 4 2005 (IPS) - There is an almost total lack of legislation to regulate telework, a growing trend in Chile, one of the most advanced Latin American countries in terms of connectivity, and one of the first to gain Internet access in the early 1990s.

The head of the Labour Ministry’s research department, Paula D’buen, told IPS that "the reduction in commuting to and from work, which means savings in terms of time and money, added to a reduction in fatigue" are decisive elements leading to a rise in telework.

Other advantages, she said, are greater autonomy, flexible hours, and the ability to adapt to the personal needs of employees. The downside, she said, is the employee’s isolation and subsequent sensation of loneliness.

According to the Labour Ministry, the increase in remote working is due to factors like "technological advances, globalisation, greater competition, demand for more skilled personnel, the search for increased productivity and the need to reconcile work and quality of life."

But D’buen noted that although "distance work is a growing reality, in Chile it is still far from as widespread as it is in North America and Europe."

A study recently released by the Catholic University on the growth in Internet use in Chile cites official statistics showing that only 45 percent of medium-sized companies, and a mere 15 percent of small businesses are connected to the Internet.

The latest on-line survey on connectivity and business strategy carried out by the U.S. telecommunications giant AT&T in cooperation with the Economist Intelligence Unit among 254 corporate executives mainly from Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region showed that telework grew significantly around the world in 2004.

The respondents, who came from industry sectors like financial services, professional services, manufacturing, transportation and energy, said remote work was a key factor in boosting company success by cutting costs and enhancing employee productivity.

The survey noted that in the case of 46 percent of companies, broadband access is now installed in the homes of half or more of the workforce, up from just 27 percent in 2003. And that proportion is set to climb by 70 percent in 2006.

A 2001 reform of Chile’s labour code recognised part-time work contracts and telework as new aspects of the labour market.

In the labour code, teleworkers are described as those who provide their services outside of the workplace, without direct supervision, using information and telecommunications technology.

These workers are largely free to decide their working hours, while maintaining their labour rights and full access to social security coverage, said D’buen.

In the world’s most industrialised countries, telework has begun to soar. Those who use it most frequently are professionals and managers, who work a few days of the week at home.

By 2010, an estimated 33 million workers in the United States will be teleworking, either part- or full-time.

But, said D’buen, the use of information and communications technologies will not completely revolutionise the organisation of labour in activities that require the physical presence of workers, like fishing, agriculture and industry, said D’buen.

Diego Olivares, president of the National Workers Union (UNT), is not opposed to the reality of information technology and recognises that a significant number of employees now work from their homes. But he warned that while this can amount to an opportunity, it can also bring negative consequences.

The underlying issue is the question of social protection for telecommuters, and the lack of a ceiling on the hours they dedicate to their jobs, he told IPS. Remote work can also disrupt family dynamics and generate instability in the home, he added.

The trade unionist acknowledged that the technological revolution affects the way workers organise, because now "not only do we have to fight to defend the gains achieved over years of struggle, but also to modify those achievements that need to be reformed, in accordance with international standards on respect for fundamental rights."

Olivares lamented the delay in tackling "issues that the industrialised nations have long been debating."

People who work in their homes "also have the right to belong to a union," he underlined, pointing out that UNT statutes allow independent professionals to join the union.

For her part, Carmen Espinoza, director of the non-governmental Labour Economy Programme, said that for women and others who have a hard time working outside of their homes, telework presents "apparently" positive aspects.

But she warned that remote work can "disrupt family life, and these women’s aim, which was to not abandon the family and the care of their children, in the end turns into veritable torture and exhaustion, and although they are at home, they are unable to pay any attention to their children."

She also pointed to the lack of legislation "to regulate this kind of labour market and protect these employees who are not considered workers covered by the labour code, and who have no protection with regard to the hours they work, vacation, the minimum wage, or social security like health coverage and old-age pensions, thus leading to more precarious labour conditions in Chile."

"These workers are isolated from the world of work, no one vouches for the experience they have gained, and they depend on whatever these volatile markets can offer," she added.

Espinoza believes that in the medium term, remote working will prevail globally due to the technological innovations that are revolutionising production, services and consumption, "which means it is extremely urgent for authorities (in Chile) to become fully aware of the issue and generate legislative mechanisms that protect workers."