TUCP News Release Released: July 11, 2013 Contact: Alan Tanjusay 0906.410.2134 Labor Group Is In Favor of 4-Day Compressed Work Week But Not Mandatorily The largest confederation of labor unions in the country, the Associated Labor Unions-TUCP is in favor of a proposed compressed work week provided it is implemented voluntarily within specific period. The proposal is to have one or two cities implement a four-day work in a week among cities and municipalities to decongest traffic in the National Capital Region. “We support the good intention of the proposal. However, the scheme, by operation, can be advantageous and or disadvantageous to both workers and companies,” said Gerard Seno executive vice president of ALU-TUCP. The proposal calls for workers to work for 10 hours a day for four days. The 10-hour work per day will already be arduous for precarious, critical and labor-intensive workers particularly those in the manufacturing, production, transport and construction sectors creating fatigue which will compromise safety and productivity, he said. Compressed work week also means reduced income as it require waiver of overtime pay for millions of regular and non-regular workers. It may also bolster the rank of unemployment and underemployment in the course of workers’ attempt to recover reduced income during the two days off, he added. On one hand, compressed work week, if implemented in selective basis, can be beneficial depending on the objective. Such work scheme was previously implemented by the government amid an extreme weather disturbance and due to energy crisis in the 1990s and was lifted after a specific period. A bill was filed in the House of Representative in 2011 which called for a mandatory and nationwide four-day work week in both private and public sector to lower the business costs to enable companies cope with operational expenses. The bill never prospered after it was vehemently opposed by the labor sector for its adverse implications on established work life balance and due to the issue of reduced income. “If government mandates all private and public sectors implement the scheme, it will create complicated problems than solutions. But if it is adopted voluntarily through consultation and dialogue using the Decent Work Framework particularly with workers and employers, the compressed work week proposal can contribute not just in helping ease traffic congestion but other issues such as saving energy and curbing operational costs,” Seno stressed. The International Labour Organization (ILO) encourages the discussion on compressed work week through its Decent Work Framework using its four-way test criteria. These are: (1) will it help employment levels, (2) will it expand access to employment opportunities, (3) will it improve the quality of employment, and (4) will it help promote mutual and/or collective gains.###
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 06:11:56 +0000
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