Remote controls come true. After months of controversy and vitriolic declarations by the unions, the Council of Ministers approved yesterday, within the context of the Jobs Act, the implementing decree on simplifications within which the rules relating to remote controls are contained.
The Minister of Labour Giuliano Poletti, in the press conference held at the end of the CDM he wanted to reassure everyone: the privacy of workers will be respected. But what does the decree provide and how will these controls work in detail? Here's everything you need to know.
Remote controls: how do they work?
The rule contained in the legislative decree approved today allows the employer to collect information on workers through audiovisual and digital tools, whether they are video cameras or access and attendance verification tools, subject to notification to the worker himself.
The most interesting novelty undoubtedly concerns the extension of the controls to new work tools such as tablets and smartphones. In this context it will not be necessary for the employer to receive any union or administrative authorization, while it must be requested for the cameras. All of this must take place in full respect of the worker's privacy and ensuring that the information collected is used only and exclusively for purposes related to the employment relationship.
"We have modified article 4 of the Workers' Statute to identify a new discipline in respect of privacy - underlined Minister Poletti - filling a void not on fixed systems but on the tools supplied to workers".
In fact, the previous legislation made it impossible for employers to use audiovisual systems and video cameras for the purpose of remotely monitoring their employees.
Returning to the use of audiovisuals and cameras, the decree provides for very specific rules, first of all: the authorization of the trade unions or of the Territorial Labor Directorate which, as previously mentioned, will not be necessary for electronic instruments such as: smartphones, tablets, internet browsing cards, computers with internet connection and a mailbox, GPS, and any other device that has a microchip, etc.
Finally, the decree underlines that all remote control tools for workers can be used only and exclusively for organizational and production needs, as well as for safety at work and for the protection of company assets.
