ECOP opposes compressed work week proposal

Employers have opposed the compressed work week sought in a bill stressing it will increase cost of production and not good for the health of workers.

In a statement, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said Senate Bill No. 1571 will make companies less productive.

The bill seeks to amend Article 83 of the Labor Code to 5 day from the current regular 6 day workweek or compressed work week of 48 hours.

The Bill seeks to amend Article 83 of the Labor Code by making an exception to the normal 8 hours of work a day when the exigency of business operations or national emergency requires the adoption of alternative work arrangements subject to conditions as may be determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment.

ECOP said it should be noted that as practiced within the legal framework of working conditions and rest periods under the Labor Code, the normal days of work in a week is six consecutive days a week, 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week, with a weekly rest day of not less than 24 hours consecutive hours. In this context, the amendment raises a number of critical issues.

For one, ECOP said that while the Bill provides for the adoption of “alternative work arrangements” as exceptions to the normal 8 hours of work in case of exigency of business operations or national emergency provided that the total number of hours of work a week shall not exceed 48 hours, it failed to define the nature of such alternative work arrangements or the nature of the exigency or emergency.

In a compressed workweek arrangement, the employee may opt to reduce the number of days dedicated to work, provided that the worker maintains the minimum number of hours required, ECOP said.

Compressed workweek arrangement will not only reduce cost of work, but also enable employees to allocate more time for other personal and social obligations, thus further promoting work-life balance.