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The Working Conditions Authority (ACT) does not have cars to ensure supervision of teleworking. The lack of vehicles is an old concern, says the Union of Labor Inspectors (SIT), but the return to compulsory telework, starting this Friday, lifts the apprehension in ACT, where the most responsible, Inspector General Luísa. Guimarães stops working the same day, precisely the first of the new national closure decreed by the Government.
“It is a problem that we feel from the north to the south of the country”, guarantees Carla Cardoso, president of the SIT, referring to the lack of vehicles. “We need cars, that is, we don’t have them. If you want to increase the inspection, it is necessary to make vehicles available, which currently do not exist ”, says the same union representative.
“In April we had a lot of cars. There were so many that there were not enough places to park them. Carports had to be found, but since they were rented cars, three months later they were returned. Without long-term contracts, these media were replaced. We now find ourselves in this situation, which reflects a lack of long-term planning capacity on the part of current management. [da ACT]”, Argues Carla Cardoso.
The PUBLIC asked ACT management in writing how many vehicles are currently available to inspectors, but did not receive a response until the publication of this article.
“In large urban centers”, admits the president of the SIT, “public transport can even work as an alternative. Although it costs more time, it is possible to travel there, but outside the urban centers it is almost impossible ”, he continues. “The truth is that we do not have cars for inspection visits”, in a scenario where “there will continue to be a labor dispute”, predicts the same person in charge.
Carla Cardoso draws a parallel between this lack of vehicles and other absences, such as masks and disinfectant gel, that have occurred in the past. “The inability to plan for the long term has led to these situations where all of a sudden there are services that are without masks, without gel and without personal protective equipment. This happened in the recent past and it was necessary to make the news to solve the problem in three days, ”he says.
Last Tuesday, January 12, ACT leaders were informed by email that the current Inspector General, Luísa Guimarães, will stop working this Friday. A transition of managers at this time, in a context of scarce resources, “is another element of instability in the service.”
Changes to the mandatory teleworking regime, which now dispenses with the common agreement of workers and employers, may even reduce the burden on ACT, which is no longer required to comment and decide within five days when there was no agreement. Between the parts.
However, the Government itself admits that teleworking is a fundamental issue, to the point of qualifying the possible infraction as very serious instead of serious. Therefore, there is an idea among inspectors that guidelines will continue to exist to intensify law enforcement in this area.
In fact, recent history shows that teleworking and hygiene and safety regulations remain fertile ground for conflict and violation. More than 1,050 companies, where more than 40,000 people work, were inspected between November and December 2020 and, according to the balance released last weekend, 738 irregular situations were detected.
According to the balance published by Lusa, 52% of the companies inspected are from the Lisbon district, followed by Setúbal and Porto (both with 13%), Braga (12%), Coimbra, Aveiro and Faro (each with 6%).
Regarding telework, mandatory since November in the municipalities with the highest risk of contagion, ACT received 655 applications for mandatory telework, with 88% of these processes completed.
