U.K. Watchdogs Urge Better Protection for Workers
Sep 15th, 2003 • Posted in: NewsLONDON
U.K. firms were taken to task last week by workers’ rights groups, which accused them of pushing employees to work long hours while failing to address the consequent stress and fatigue.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) slammed bosses for allegedly strong-arming employees into workweeks of more than 48 hours, often without signing waivers as required by EU law, according to a report from the BBC.
Of 2,000 people surveyed by the TUC, one-quarter said they were required to sign such a waiver when working long hours. Two-thirds said they were required to violate the work-hours limit without a waiver.
“We are declaring war on Britain’s long-hours culture,” TUC general secretary Brendan Barber warned at the group’s annual meeting last week.
Also in the watchdogs’ sights is the apparent failure of employers to help workers cope with the stresses and mental health problems brought on by such long hours and high demands.
According to a survey of nearly 1,600 workers, almost half said they would ask their bosses for help with depression or a similar mental illness, though only 2 percent believed any practical help would result.
Managers mostly agree, with two-thirds saying they felt like novices at dealing with such issues, and 75 percent saying their workplaces lacked adequate policies or resources to help cope with the problem.
“Mental health difficulties hurt individuals. They also damage business,” Will Hutton, chief executive of the Work Foundation, told the BBC. “Productivity, performance, attendance, staff retention, and morale — all are affected when individuals experience stress, depression, eating disorders, panic attacks, or other difficulties.”
The BBC report cites recent statistics warning that mental illness costs the U.K. economy more than $123 billion annually.
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