Ka Leody: 4-day work week may reduce income due to ‘no work, no pay’ policy

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s recommendation of a four-day work week may result in lower worker wages due to the “no work, no pay” policy, labor leader Leody de Guzman said Wednesday.

“Ang epekto ng panukalang 4-day work week ay kabawasan sa kita ng manggagawa. Dahil imbes na ‘no loss in pay’ ay ‘no work, no pay,’” De Guzman said in a statement.

READ: Chua: Gov’t offices can already shift to four-day workweek

(The effect of the shortened four-day workweek is a reduction from the income of workers. Because instead of “no loss in pay,” it is “no work, no pay.”)

“Paalis na nga lang sa pwesto, nagawa pang mamerwisyo. Imbes na tulungang dumagdag ang kita ay binawasan pa,” he added.

(They are about to leave their positions, but they still managed to burden the people. Instead of helping, they slashed earnings.)

The presidential bet renewed his proposal for shortened work hours.

“Ang aking panukala para sa shortened work week, na maaring 6-hour working day, nang walang kabawasan sa sweldo, ay naglalayong magdagdag na isang shift para sa karagdagang empleyo habang binabawasan ang physical depreciation ng katawan ng manggagawang nalalaspag sa pag-oobertaym at pagtarabaho,” he reiterated.

(My proposal for a shortened workweek, which can be further reduced to a six-hour working day without salary reduction, aims to add another shift for another employee while lowering the physical depreciation of workers’ bodies which are overused due to overtime work.)

“Imbes na pinapalitan ng makina ang pagkaempleyo ng tao, ang pag-unlad sa teknolohiya ay dapat humantong sa pagbabawas ng hours of work, nang hindi binabawasan, bagkus ay dinadagdagan pa ang sweldo,” he further explained.

(Instead of replacing employees with machines, the enhancement of technology should lead to shortened work hours without reducing, but instead, raising the salary.)

The National Economic and Development Authority recently suggested trimming weekly working days from five to four days, 10 hours per day, to conserve energy amid rising fuel costs.

READ: Neda offers fix for rising prices: No wage, fare hike but fewer work days

The proposal is under President Rodrigo Duterte’s review, according to the Palace.

Current local pump prices amount to P84 for diesel and P94 for gasoline.

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