Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said the scheme, which increases the daily working hours from eight to 10, will affect employees' health and violate their rights.
It is also unfavorable to workers who are paid on a daily basis and are subject to a "no work, no pay" policy, the group said.
"Unlike their monthly counterparts, daily paid workers are paid on actual days rendered. So the possibility is that they would be paid based on the number of days actually worked and not by the number of man hours spent," said KMU chairperson Elmer Labor in a text message to Sun.Star.
When applied to private sector workers, some employers may take advantage of the opportunity to cut workers’ wages further, according to KMU.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said it will support the shorter work week provided employers will consult workers before implementation and there is no dimunition of salary and benefits.
"It has advantages and disadvantages and it cannot be implemented in some industries or sectors such as manufacturing," said TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay.
The four-day work week is seen by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) as a tool to ease heavy traffic along Metro Manila's roads, enhance productivity and promote work-life balance among employees by increasing the number of workers' rest days and time for their families.
"Instead of addressing the causes of heavy traffic, the Aquino government is passing the burden of the problem to workers and ordinary Filipinos. Instead of improving mass transport system to reduce the volume of private vehicles plying the streets, it is implementing a scheme that's bad for workers' health," Labog said.
It would be up to government agencies to heed the CSC's recommendation as policemen, firemen and hospital staff are deemed excluded from the scheme because of their heavy interaction with the public. (Sunnex)By Virgil B. Lopez SunStar
