- The trade union umbrella organization Travailsuisse calls for legislative measures against stress and exhaustion in the workplace.
- Among other things, he wants to counteract the psychological stress on employees with more effective rules on overtime and more holidays.
- According to Travailsuisse, more and more people are affected by work-related stress.
Too long working days, more and more flexibility, unclear boundaries between private and professional life. The trade union umbrella organization sees these developments as the cause of increasing stress in the workplace. He sees politics as a duty – and calls for more effective rules on working hours and more holidays for everyone.
Stress and exhaustion are the greatest burden for employees, said Travailsuisse President Adrian Wüthrich in Bern: “By now everyone knows someone who has been absent for a long time with a burnout.” The shortage of skilled workers means a higher burden for the employees.
Call for more predictability
Travailsuisse presented an analysis on the subject at the joint media conference with representatives of the Syna trade union, the hotel and gastro union and the Transfair staff association in Bern.
Travailsuisse wants to start with duty planning, among other things: Today, work schedules usually have to be announced with a lead time of just two weeks. This is no longer up-to-date, since in more families both parents are employed. The organization would like to see work on call explicitly prohibited.
The association also calls for stricter regulations for the regulations on rest and working hours. Because in more and more companies, employees have to be present from early in the morning until late in the evening and are only given a few hours of free time in between. Travailsuisse is therefore calling for the length of working days, including day and evening work, to be limited to a maximum of ten hours a day. A maximum of one hour overtime should be allowed per day.
To date, the labor law provides for maximum weekly working hours of 45 or 50 hours, the association criticizes. This, while other countries had long since introduced the 42 or 40 hour week. It needs a significant reduction.
The employer side demands that we should all work even longer – that’s cynical.
The former Bernese SP National Councilor Wüthrich accused the employers of wanting to shift the entrepreneurial risk to the employees. He rejected demands from the bourgeoisie for a relaxation of the regulations on working hours.
Such a policy turns a blind eye to the health risks: “Employers are demanding that we all work longer – that’s cynical.” The engine of the labor market is running at full speed. The employees would be trimmed for efficiency, effectiveness and maximum flexibility.
widespread problem
In surveys, 40 percent of employees said they felt exhausted, according to Wüthrich. As a countermeasure, Travailsuisse requires, among other things, at least six instead of just four weeks of paid vacation for everyone per year, and seven for people under 20 years of age.
In addition, employees should have the right to reduce their workload and be given more influence over their working hours. Today it is hardly possible for many to look after children or relatives, to do voluntary work or to complete further training.
Regulations are also needed that ensure the right to rest and non-availability in leisure time.