Telefónica: Global agreement on planning the return to work in the Covid-19 crisis

On 12 May, the management of the Spanish telecommunications group Telefónica and the Uni Global Union federation signed a global agreement to protect the health of workers returning to work after periods of confinement or short-time working linked to the Covid-19 crisis (see press release by UNI Global Union). As far as we are aware, this is the first agreement on this subject to be signed with a multinational company. In addition to giving priority to collective bargaining and to making sure that employees continue to work from home where possible (see ‘A question for’…), the agreement specifies the protective equipment required and the guarantees to be put in place for the various jobs being performed, in order to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus. “Our concern is to protect the health of our employees and to guarantee the continuity of our business”, explains Tatiana Espinosa de los Monteros, Global LLRR Director, Telefónica Group. “This is what prompted us to sign an agreement in Spain with the UGT and CCOO trade unions. We then agreed that it would be useful to negotiate an agreement with the UNI Global Union. This global agreement is not an agreement to be applied as it stands in all countries, but it contains guidelines for the negotiations that are due to take place with the trade unions at local level, taking account of the national context, government recommendations and WHO recommendations”.