As the Government moves to finalise a work-from-home policy for public servants, there is confirmation that legislation is not the route it will take.
Minister of Labour Stephen Mc Clashie made the revelation at during C-Suite Conversations: The Future of Work at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.
For almost two years, employees have been working from home due to COVID-19. However, now that the pandemic is waning, many have returned to their offices.
According to Mc Clashie, many companies have done well during that time, since workers were more productive.
“As businesses, you lose millions of dollars in non-productive time, wasted in traffic jams and by the time the employee reach to work, they are no good for themselves and have to take two hours to catch themselves. But we hold on to all ideas that you must be in the office,” Mc Clashie said.
The Minister noted that not every worker has to be in the office. It is why he said the Government has been looking to roll out a work-from-home policy for public sector workers.
Already, several consultations have been held, including through a Joint Select Committee to examine the impact of remote work.
“I read somewhere recently, one of the European countries I believe, spoke about making work from home part of their labour law and I know we will speak it but in Trinidad, we will probably not go there for a while,” he stated.
The Government is aiming to complete the process by September, following which the policy will be made public. A survey was done in 2020 to assist with drafting the policy. Eighty-two per cent of 1,068 public workers said they were more than able to work from home. A team was appointed to drive the initiative. It includes officials from the Office of the Prime Minister, Personnel Department and Ministry of Planning, Public Administration, Labour, Energy and Digital Transformation.
Meanwhile, Mc Clashie said he has been concerned about the treatment of workers during the pandemic.
“As Minister of Labour, I am deeply concerned about the many reports that are made to the Ministry of Labour, particularly over the past two years, where these rights have been flouted and COVID-19 pandemic was used as an excuse to circumvent national laws,” according to him.
“These include workers’ pay being cut without consultation with them, or their representative organisation. Failure by employers to make NIS payments, breaches of the Minimum Wage Act, and secretarial orders as well as the maternity Protection Act,” he added.