Saint-Josse municipal staff must work from home on Fridays to save energy

The Brussels municipality of Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode is requiring all of its municipal administrative staff to work from home every Friday to save energy.

The compulsory day of home-working has been imposed after the municipality saw its energy bills double to €3 million per year.

The measure was approved during an emergency council meeting this week and will come into force on 14 October until further notice.

"These are not nice measures," a spokeswoman for Saint-Josse mayor Emir Kir told Bruzz. "But if the situation does not improve, we will have to take more. Unfortunately, we have no choice, because we want to keep our staff working."

As a result, Saint-Josse town hall on Avenue de l'Astronomie and the administrative centre on Rue Royale will be closed on Fridays - to staff and the public.

The closure means Saint-Josse will have three consecutive days per week of low energy consumption - an estimated saving of 20% on its energy expenditure.

The spokeswoman said the closure should not have an impact on public services, "but we may have to refine the system in the coming weeks".