Truth be told, there are workers who like the scheme since they’re forced to stay late at the office when they want to avoid getting stuck traffic. To them, the scheme would allow them to be productive while they wait.
READ: 4-day work week scheme approved for government offices in Metro Manila
But, apparently, some groups don’t like it one bit.
“Militant groups like the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) have described as antiworker and antifamily the four-day workweek scheme approved recently by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for Metro Manila government offices to help ease traffic congestion,” reports Jaymee T. Gamil in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Under the four-day work week scheme, government workers in Metro Manila are at the office from 8am to 7pm—with an hour off for lunch—either from Tuesdays to Fridays or from Mondays to Thursdays.
KMU chair Elmer “Bong” Labog was quoted as saying, “Workers fought for the right to an eight-hour workday to protect [their] health. The four-day workweek is a direct attack on this hard-won victory of the international workers’ movement and shows how antiworker this government is.”
The report noted: “Meanwhile COURAGE national president Ferdinand Gaite said the new work schedule would have a bad effect on their ‘work-life balance’ as they would end up spending more hours at the office rather than with their families.”
Gaite also said that “government employees would be more vulnerable to criminals as they would be coming home from work late.”
But there are those who still stay late at the office anyway because, as we pointed out, they can’t stand being stuck in traffic.
Besides, the scheme isn’t mandatory.
Screengrab from the KMU NCR Facebook page
