Fórsa is today (Friday) meeting public expenditure and reform minister Michael McGrath to discuss the possibility of targeted four-day week working pilots in areas of the public service from early 2023.

The Government has already committed €150,000 in research funding to explore the economic, social and environmental implications of the four-day working week in response to the union’s campaign.

The second phase of the pilot programme, which is part of an international initiative coordinated by 4-Day Week Global.

This week, Wales and Belgium became the latest counties to move on the issue of reduced working time.

New Belgian legislation gives staff the right to work a four-day week without loss of salary, though this involves working the same number of hours over a shorter working week.

The Four Day Week Ireland programme is piloting genuine working time reduction, where workers get the same pay for reduced hours, but with the same output.

Meanwhile, a new report by the Autonomy think tank in Wales has called on the Government to trial a four-day week in the public sector. It found that 57% of people in Wales support or strongly support the idea of a four-day week pilot scheme.