" Safety must be a universal right, not a variable tied to the sector or the sensitivity of the employer ." This is according to Cristiano Ardau, general secretary of UILTuCS Sardegna , who calls for the introduction of clear and binding regulations to explicitly include service sector workers among those protected in the event of severe weather alerts . In light of the increasingly frequent high-level weather alerts – and the latest one in particular – UILTuCS believes regulatory intervention is essential to guarantee the same protections provided for other sectors , especially in the event of a red alert or significant risk conditions.
"It is unacceptable," Ardau emphasizes, "that, given the closure of schools, public offices, and institutional activities, thousands of private sector workers are left at the discretion of individual companies , often forced to go to work despite obvious risks related to mobility, extreme weather events, and personal safety." According to the union, work suspensions should be provided for in the event of high-risk ordinances or bulletins , ensuring full pay and social security coverage for the day of absence, without penalizing employees and without passing the costs on to individual companies .
"It is necessary to eliminate any interpretative ambiguity ," Ardau continues, " which currently allows for inconsistent and, in some cases, irresponsible behavior ." Extreme weather events can no longer be considered exceptions, but are a structural reality. Ignoring this evidence means needlessly exposing thousands of people to avoidable risks and fueling a dangerous distinction between "protected" workers and "expendable" workers.
«The protection of life, health and the dignity of work must come before any logic of profit – concludes Ardau – and it is on this ground that we will measure the responsibility of the institutions and the real political will to guarantee equal rights to all workers, including those in the tertiary sector».
(Unioneonline)
