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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Government rejects push for four-day workweek
People cross a street during rush hour in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
TIME AND PLACE: If elementary schools were subject to a four-day workweek, students would have to attend school two more hours each day, the Ministry of Education said
/ Staff writer, with CNA
The Directorate-General of Personnel Administration （DGPA） yesterday said it was not ready to consider a proposal to implement a four-day workweek, citing the scale of such an endeavor and insufficient trial data.
The agency and the Ministry of Labor were required to respond to the proposal after two petitions on the National Development Council’s Public Policy Online Participation Platform passed the signature threshold last month.
The response deadline for the first petition was yesterday, while the second is on Sunday.
Establishing a four-day workweek would have a huge effect across industries, including on transportation planning, the stock market, medical services and education, the DGPA said.
A four-day workweek has only been tested in small-scale trials by a few governments, it said, adding that there is insufficient data on its effect on company operations, employee health and economic development.
Given that government agencies are responsible for carrying out public tasks and must maintain the quality of their services, it would be inappropriate to implement such a change before supporting measures are established, it said.
The DGPA added that it would continue to listen to opinions from across sectors and reassess the proposal once more definitive data are available from other countries.
The Ministry of Labor said that while it understands people’s desire for a shorter workweek, the scale of such a change would require a high level of public support.
To ensure compliance with existing labor laws, the ministry vowed to continue bolstering inspections and promoting friendly work environments.
The Ministry of Education yesterday said that if elementary schools were to shift to four days per week, students would have to attend school two more hours each day.
University students would have to cram the same amount of class hours into four days, which would likely lead to scheduling conflicts for teachers and classroom availability issues, it said.
Belgium last year passed a law giving employees the right to work four days instead of five without pay cuts, but employers can reject a worker’s request if justified in writing, media reports said at the time.
Additional reporting by Lee Chin-hui
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
