Pumpkin2022
Member
SYDNEY — Australia gave millions of workers the legal right to "disconnect" on Monday, allowing them to ignore unreasonable out-of-hours contact from employers, to the distress of big industry. People can now "refuse to monitor, read, or respond to" their employers' attempts to contact them outside work hours — unless that refusal is deemed "unreasonable". The law is similar to legislation in some European and Latin American countries. Unions welcomed the legislation, saying it gave workers a way to reclaim a level of work-life balance. "Today is a historic day for working people," said Michele O'Neil, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. "The union movement has won the legal right for Australians to spend quality time with their loved ones without the stress of being forced to constantly answer unreasonable work calls and emails," she said. "Australian unions have reclaimed the right to knock off after work." But the reforms got a cool welcome from Australian industry. "The 'right to disconnect' laws are rushed, poorly thought out and deeply confusing," the Australian Industry Group said in a statement.
Hopefully, other countries will follow suit. 
