On the World Day for Decent Work, the Steering Committee of the European Sunday Alliance asks for more political support to enhance the protection of workers in order to ensure fair labour conditions, centred around the principles of freedom, safety and human dignity.
The Steering Committee of the European Sunday Alliance stresses in particular that decent work also depends on decent resting time – and that crucial pillars of decent resting time pertain to especially to a right to a limit on maximum working hours and to a synchronized weekly day of rest is crucial.
According to the Steering Committee of the European Sunday Alliance weekly rest periods must not only encompass the quantity of time, i.e. a work-free day, but also the quality of this rest. A work-free day must allow to combine both personal rest and social bonding. Individuals are indeed social beings, part of a community, and their interpersonal relationships play a key role in their work-life balance, wellbeing, and recovery from work. Where resting time can be organised as synchronised resting time, this allows individual to spend time with their family members, friends or peers, or collective social communities, which can include volunteering, worship, leisure and sport. A common day of rest during the week is a prerequisite for a healthy work-life balance and a recovery from daily stress.
The Steering Committee of the European Sunday Alliance calls on policy makers and stakeholders to also consider the importance of the quality of synchronised resting time for the mental health of workers, not least to further the debate on the establishment of a weekly common day of rest at the EU level for all citizens.
