10 March 2022

On the 1st of March – Zero Discrimination Day -, NEC Fellow and nocturnal anthropologist Iulius-Cezar Macarie launched the Nightworker Charter, an initiative that seeks to improve the life of night workers and to repair the problems associated with their work (exploitation, social isolation, financial precariousness, emotional distancing in their families, health issues etc.).

Please find more in the op-ed entitled Everyone Counts: The Invisible Workers in Nightshift Cities, authored by Iulius-Cezar Macarie.

Excerpt from the presentation of this project:

“Across the European Union (EU) and in the United Kingdom (UK), despite their strategic roles in the functioning of national economies, nightworkers are excluded from political agendas and public debates about who is and who is not an ‘essential’ or ‘key’ worker. There is a pressing demand for a new set of arrangements that address the specific problems with nightwork, e.g., invisibility, isolation, and tremendous negative impacts on health. That is why I think you should take interest and help in the setup of this open, democratic process to improve the lives of nightworkers.

What does the Nightworker Charter do?

The Nightworker Charter offers practical solutions to improve nightworkers’ working conditions on the basis that all relevant stakeholders:

(1) Recognise the problems specific to nightwork

(2) Address the multi-layered precarity associated with nightwork

(3) Make nightwork a stand-alone form of work in legal terms

Why is the Nightworker Charter relevant now?

Nightworkers play a crucial role in supporting nighttime economies (NTE), day workers, and national economies throughout Europe. Yet today we all face a health crisis. This Nightworker Charter represents solidarity with nightshift workers, be they the frontline or even the ‘non-essential’ workers who have helped us get through this awful period. The Nightworker Charter begins a reparation process that defends nightworkers’ rights embedded within current constitutional arrangements but are hardly ever implemented.”

Read the Charter here.

Sign the Charter here.