Despite initial criticism of Mayor Emir Kir's decision to make teleworking mandatory for municipal staff on Fridays in order to cut the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode commune's energy costs, the local authorities and the unions have now agreed to implement the measure.
At the end of the consultation meeting on Wednesday morning, the administrative authorities and the unions reached an agreement to telework on Fridays. The measure will come into force as originally planned on 14 October.
"Thanks to this conversation, we were able to clarify a number of points with the unions and finally came to the same conclusion: we need to act quickly and wisely to reduce energy expenses. The teleworking day on Fridays is a step in that direction," Kir said in a press release.
Due to the successive indexation of wages, valorisation of the lowest statuses, pensions and the current energy crisis, the situation for all municipalities is unsustainable, underlined his cabinet. "If there is an emergency, we must act thoughtfully."
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When the measure was announced, however, critics argued that while Saint-Josse could maybe save 20% on bills by having admin staff work from home one day a week, the municipality would only be passing on the energy costs to its staff.
In response, Kir stated that it is important to keep in mind the steps leading up to its announcement: "we held an initial working meeting with the energy coordinator and then with the management. The measure not only seemed useful but was rather well received by the employees."
"Today, we are happy that the unions are following us in this fight we are waging mainly for the preservation of public service. And on that, we all agree," Kir said, adding that an increase in the compensation that teleworking employees receive is also on the table.
