“It is an important achievement for workers to be able to know, as a state, exactly how long they work,” said the prime minister
The supermarket chain and bank branches where the digital work card has been applied since July 1st, as a result of which the arrival, departure and hours of each employee are recorded transparently and in real time and therefore ensure the protection of their rights, visited the morning Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
“It is an important achievement for workers to be able to know, as a state, exactly how much time they work so as to avoid any circumvention of working time,” said the prime minister during the discussion he had with supermarket employees, in the center of Athens. noting that there is now an automatic interface with PS Ergani.
In the first phase of application, the digital job card covers approximately 121,000 workers, while it is planned to extend it to all sectors of the economy over a period of 12 months.
“It is certain, as this program and this tool will be extended to other sectors of the economy, that it will give a great security to the worker knowing that he will really be paid for the hours he has worked. Because, unfortunately, there are still quite a few circumvention phenomena. And now with this tool, any labor inspector will be able to know immediately how much time the worker has actually worked and if he should be at work at the time of the inspection”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized.
The general secretary of labor relations, Anna Stratinaki, pointed out that the new system “helps healthy competition at the same time. Because respectively, employers who are consistent are challenged by employers who essentially defend delinquency. And secondly, it will help labor inspection in a targeted control system. In other words, we will be able to see, in real time, where we need to intervene and why. So this gives a real system of defense of labor rights and healthy competitiveness”.
“Employers will also know that it is much more difficult to exploit workers, because the control will now be much easier”, noted the Prime Minister, who had the opportunity to see in practice how the start and end of end of the shift in a supermarket through the applications MyErgani – installed on employees’ mobile phones – and Ergani Cardscanner, installed on the employer’s device.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis also had the opportunity to talk to the employees about the effect of the card in ensuring a balance between work and family life, about the possibility of better planning of their activities and about other everyday issues, such as their movements to and from their work.
The Prime Minister then visited a bank branch, where he had the opportunity to see in real time the alternative way of interfacing with the digital work card systems at PS Ergani, as the declaration of the start of the schedule is made with one click from each employee’s computer.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis pointed out that thanks to the provisions of the newly built system, the hours of remote employment are recorded and the right to disconnect is protected, so as to avoid any abuse.
“It is one of the achievements of labor legislation. It has been discussed in many European countries, few have done it. We have institutionalized it so that the employee can know that the employer will not abuse his time when he works from home. Something that happened all the time to be honest,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
“Teleworking does not go outside the radar of the inspection, that is the most important thing, and secondly we do not have fake teleworking, that is, someone having a physical job and appearing as a teleworker,” she said during the discussion with her employees and executives bank the general secretary of labor relations.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis was also informed about the way in which overtime is declared, either to cover a planned need or due to an unforeseen event, through a digital process of advance notice of the schedule and declaration of increased hours, which guarantees the rights of workers.
What is the Digital Job Card?
It is noted that the Digital Work Card has been implemented since July 1st in banks and supermarkets throughout Greece, covering 121,000 workers in the first phase, while it is planned to extend it to all branches within 12 months.
The card is included in the application for “smart” mobile phones myErgani app. The CardScanner app is also available to businesses, which “reads” the employee’s Digital Card when entering and leaving work and transmits the information in real time to the Ergani system.
With myErgani, employees have direct and easy access to the details of Scheduled Working Time, Leave, Overtime and Work Card, from their mobile phone, tablet or computer. For employers, this data is immediately available in digital calendar format (Real Employment Calendar) with advanced search capabilities.
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