The Council of Trade Unions is marking International Families Day with a call that all workers should have access to work-life balance solutions, not just the few. [1]

"We will continue our advocacy for a legislative right for all workers to request flexible working hours, to help establish a culture that recognises workers' considerable responsibilities outside of the workplace and to support quality of family life," CTU secretary Carol Beaumont said.

"Unions have worked with dozens of other community, professional and business groups campaigning in recent months in the Coalition for Quality Flexible Work [2] for a legislative right to request flexible working hours, in support of the Kedgley private members bill [3].”

United Kingdom experience of flexible working hours legislation has been that employers implementing flexible working hours have reported higher motivated and more productive staff, greater staff retention, and improved morale, Carol Beaumont said.

“There is an essential role for unions in achieving work life balance, through bargaining for improvements in collective employment agreements that support work-life balance, seeking changes in the legal minimum code and through workplace partnerships.”

“Work life balance initiatives need to sit alongside progress in related workforce issues such as improving the conditions of employment for those caring for dependents, retaining older workers, enhancing skills development, increasing productivity and ensuring work is safe and healthy."

“Workers’ own experience is that our long-hours culture, shift work and rotating hours are having a negative impact on their family lives, and this is backed up by Department of Labour analysis from July 2006 [4], finding that 46% of workers experience some degree of work-life conflict.”

[5]“Helping workers achieve a better work-life balance is a win-win for all.  It helps workers to better manage the competing demands they face, helps employers with staff retention, motivation and productivity, and helps communities by ensuring that people are able to make important contributions to the voluntary sector,” Carol Beaumont said.

Ends.  Click here to visit the CTU's work-life balance campaign page 'Get A Life' [5].