Solons, labor split on 4-day work week

LAWMAKERS and three labor groups on Monday were divided on the four-day work week scheme for government employees in Metro Manila to address the worsening traffic situation there.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said the plan could save energy and ease traffic in the metropolis, but the group Kilusang Mayo Uno said it would be bad for the workers.

The Partido ng Manggagawa said it had no problems with the plan as long as the workers’ rights were protected, while the Metro Manila Development Authority had earlier welcomed it.

The Civil Service Commission had said the government offices in Metro Manila could implement a Monday-to-Thursday or a Tuesday-to-Friday work schedule, from eight am to 7 pm, with an hour off for the lunch break.

The commission said the plan could be implemented next week, but the government offices must meet some requirements before those could implement the new scheme.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. said the Civil Service Commission’s optional policy for government offices would be counter-productive.

“I am not in favor it,” Belmonte said.

He said the government should be able to find a solution to the worsening traffic situation without public service being made to suffer.

Barzaga agreed.

“I do not agree with the four day a week work. Public service would suffer,” Barzaga said.

Instead, he said, “I suggest we ban private vehicles at Edsa during rush hours.”

But Quezon City Rep. Bolet Banal and Abakada party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz said the four-day work week should be given a chance.

“This is an experiment. It will help us not only with the traffic but also as a guide on the performance and efficiency of government workers,” De la Cruz said.

Said Banal: “As it is, it seems that five days is not enough, but let us hear the proponents out and give them a chance to prove that the proposed four-day work week can alleviate the traffic woes of the metropolis.”

1-BAP party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III said the shortened number of days for government employees should not affect in any way the quality of service that government offices should be providing to the public.

“Somebody will have to assure the public that this will ease traffic but not at the expense of public service,” Bello said.

The TUCP said the employers should first consult their workers before implementing the four-day plan. It said the four-day work week had advantages and disadvantages, but it could not be implemented in some industries or sectors.

The KMU said increasing the work hours to 11 from eight would affect the workers’ health and violate their rights. It also raised the dangers the plan would pose to those workers who are paid on a daily basis and subject to the no work, no pay policy.

“Workers fought for the right to an eight-hour work day to protect their health. The four-day work week is a direct attack on this hard-won victory of the international works’ movement and shows how anti-worker this government is,” group chairman Elmer Labog said. - By Maricel Cruz, Vito Barcelo and Joel E. Zurbano /  Manila Standard Today