Three million Colombians have suffered telecommuting injuries, says study

On April 3, a study was revealed in which it is assured that work injuries during telework have increased in number and, in addition, more than half of companies in Colombia (57%) continue to have their employees at home.

RCN Radio spoke with Teresa Racedo, from Manuela Beltrán University, who said that the problem with moving work to homes, due to covid-19 was that homes were not adapted to provide that service.

The occupational safety expert assures that workers in the country are performing their jobs in chairs that are not the right ones, poor quality desks and no spaces are delimited to help employee productivity.

According to Forero, there are records of 3′120,000 people in Colombia who have suffered a physical or health problem since they started working at home, many resulting from poor working posture.

On the other hand, the expert assured the media: “This situation increased musculoskeletal disorders such as lumbago, back pain in the upper and lower back, problems in the neck, in the cervical area, spasms, contractures, epicondylitis which is an inflammation of the elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome. This could lead to problems of loss or decrease in muscle strength.”

The arrival of the pandemic in the country brought with it different measures regarding restrictions on mobility and access to certain sites. From the business sector, workers had to respect the capacity according to the emergency situation and after this, alternatives such as teleworking were implemented.

This tool allowed workers to develop their home activities, clearly according to the work to be done, that is why, in the face of the total return to work spaces, some employees would have the possibility to continue with this work model, but for this, they must comply with certain specifications.

The measure would be governed by the Ministry of Labour, this portfolio is carrying out a detailed study of the points to be taken into account for the issuance of the decree, which in the coming weeks would be reviewed by the President of the Republic Iván Duque. However, accessing this benefit is not so easy and directly depends on the company and the situation of the employee who initially requests it.

The conditions that would be on the table depend on a fortuitous event on the part of the employee, where for compelling and personal reasons it is difficult for him to go to his place of work, each of the excuses to be presented must have a special or exceptional proof.

In addition to this, there would be a limited time for this benefit, since it would be only three months that the employee would work from home, after that he must return to his place of work, unless there is an agreement that allows an extension of the stipulated time.

The making of this request would have a filing process that must be answered by the employer, since after the letter is delivered, the employer has five working days to respond to the letter. Regarding the answer, if it is positive, the conditions and deadlines for the execution of the benefit were established, however, if there is a refusal involved, the reason for it must be argued as a respective supporting document.

In the meantime, if the worker obtains the benefit, they must go to work if they are urgently requested from the company to return to face-to-face, although, they must be notified five days in advance.

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