Modern society forces the use of modern means of work, standing out; computer and telecommunication means.
Scientific problem:
What impact do Information Technology and Communications currently have on employment, seen from the point of view of Teleworking?
Hypothesis:
Teleworking, as a new employment option, has positive influences, but in turn certain traits appear that make it have a negative impact on employment and worker protection.
Goals:
general
Demonstrate how Telework influences the workplace, both for the worker and for the employer.
Specific
- Define the direct antecedents of Telework, distinguishing it from home work. Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of Telework. Demonstrate the incidence and legal basis that Telework has in different countries. Point out the conflicts present in teleworking agreements.
Investigative methods: the dialectical-historical, the bibliographic review, consulting those bibliographies that were within our reach, which are related to the topic addressed, especially through the search for information through the different Web sites and the legal theoretical method that allows us a comprehensive and systemic analysis of the research object.
Direct antecedents of Telework
- It has its first references in the US during the 70s in the midst of the oil crisis. In the business environment of the time, new theories began to spread that considered information as a strategic resource for the company. Mentality changes occurred in the organization of the company and in the workers themselves. It passes, for example, from a concept of centralization of company services to a concept of decentralization of the organization. From a fixed schedule concept to a flexible schedule. The concept of service also changes and relationships with workers, customers and suppliers are redefined.
“Telework is a form of organization and / or performance of work, using information technologies within the framework of a contract or an employment relationship, in which a job that could also be performed in the premises of the company is carried out outside these premises on a regular basis ”.
Home work is “that which is carried out at the home of the worker or in a place freely chosen by the latter and without supervision of the Employer.
Teleworking is based on the massive use of IT and Telecommunication tools.
Law No. 49 “Labor Code”, dated 12/28/84, provides in its glossary of terms the Home Work Contract; such as the agreement that formalizes the labor relationship between labor entities, commissioned by said entities. It is subscribed with the purpose of producing products intended for the use and consumption of the population, for tourism and export or the provision of a service, which is carried out on a temporary or permanent basis.
In Resolution No. 8 of 2005 of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, General Regulations on Labor Relations, it is included in its article 42, as one of the forms of contracts for the formalization of the labor relationship, the home contract.
Advantages of Teleworking.
For employers:
- Cost savings Increased productivity Increased motivation Retention of skills Organizational flexibility Better customer service
For employees:
- Reduction of travel time and costs Less impact on family life Flexible hours Greater participation in the community Better work and family life balance
For society
- Reduced travel Increased employment opportunities Access to work for disabled people
Disadvantages of Teleworking for the employer:
- Difficulty in controlling time and quality of work. Decreased confidentiality of information. Difficulty in maintaining the structure. Difficulty in motivating workers. Risk of dissolution of the concept of "working time."
For the teleworker:
- Violation of the right to rest Invasion of privacy Absence of labor protection and hygiene measures Denial of unionism More complicated or no social and labor protection Training to handle new technologies Need for large doses of self-discipline There is still no labor regulation for teleworkers, they may find themselves unprotected in the face of problems such as work accidents, contracts, social security, retirement plans or health coverage.In the United States there were nine million workers in 1997, and it is estimated that this number reaches the eleven million in the year 2000 In the countries of the European Union, 8 million teleworkers were registered
World Projects on teleworking.
- Temple ProjectETD European Telework DevelopmentMonalisa ProjectMinerva Project
Legal basis of Telework in some countries
- European Framework Agreement on telework, which regulates: the definition and field of application of telework, the voluntary nature, employment conditions, data protection, privacy, equipment, health and safety, organization of the work, training, and collective rights, as well as the implementation and monitoring of the same In Spain we observe Law 31/1995, of November 8, on Occupational Risk Prevention (LPRL), which does not exempt teleworking from its scope of application. Rather, you keep on your article. 13, the full responsibility of the employer to guarantee compliance with this health and safety obligation.
Conflicts present in the telework agreement
- Work day (conceptualized as the amount of time an employer has to dispose of the work force). It cannot be a question of extending the time shift or intensifying work in the same shift. Flexibility must prevail. Teledavailability acquires special relevance, since it is really easy and comfortable for a company that can contact its teleworker at all times and that can be incorporated into their work immediately. It is true that all remote availability causes harm to the teleworker and furthermore, psychologically, it cannot be considered as time of rest. Possible discrimination. The salary of a teleworker may not be less than that of an ordinary worker of equivalent professional category, in the locality where the services are provided,since these workers must be considered the same as the rest.
- The union's position on teleworking Separation from the teleworker's work environment and private life Control and privacy Control through audiovisual mechanisms against the teleworker's right to personal and family privacy Control over the recording of telephone calls Control through a software. Possible violation of the teleworker's right to privacy. Health and safety. Possible violation of the right of inviolability of the home. Social security. Same obligations for teleworkers.
Teleworking. Management dilemmas
- Trust is not blind Trust needs limits Trust requires learning Trust is tough Trust needs bonds Trust needs contact
Prospects for teleworking in Cuba
It has been shown that for the implantation and development of teleworking it is necessary first of all an adequate technological support or what is the same a high development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and that these are available to everyone..
As endorsed in the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba and in the Labor Code, work constitutes a right and a social duty, carried out under conditions that ensure life, integrity, health and a decent standard of living, in addition to that the rights of workers are respected, both in working years and in old age or when any circumstance deprives the worker of the possibility of working.
