Newly-elected MEP Alex Agius Saliba has set his sights on the EU finally enshrining people’s right to disconnect, whether that’s emails or messages, during non-work hours.

Addressing the EU in a committee about employment and social affairs attended by the director-general of the European Commission, Agius Saliba asked whether the EU was looking to follow the paths taken by other European countries, like France, and introduce the right for the entire bloc.

While noting that digitalisation and new technologies have brought a multitude of benefits to the workforce, Agius Saliba told Lovin Malta:

“I believe that there is a growing need to establish “the right to digitally disconnect” in order to create the much-needed boundary between work, home and private life and provide the quality of work-life balance employees deserve and need.”

“The new communication technologies and the flexibility in work organisation can often lead to longer working hours and overlap between work, private lives and personal time. The mere expectation of being in contact 24/7 is enough to increase stress on employees and their families.”

The right to disconnect was also recently flagged by the President of the Union of Professional Educators, Graham Sansone, who detailed how educators were being made to work above their official hours, during summer months in particular, by being sent emails and messages.

In the same sitting, Agius Saliba also addressed issues concerning the EU’s Globalisation Adjustment Fund, which is used to support employees of large companies who could be made redundant.

The EU makes 150 million available to the fund each year to companies with more than 500 employees. This, as Agius Saliba pointed out, precludes Malta from accessing the crucial fund given that the country’s largest companies barely hold more than 250 workers.

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