‘Time has come’ for four-day working week for Irish businesses as new pilot programme launches
A PILOT programme launched today for a four-day working week for Irish businesses.
The programme has launched today but will start in January 2022, as other countries like Spain and Scotland have already developed the idea too.
Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland, General Secretary of Forsa and spokesperson for Four Day Week Ireland campaign Kevin Callinan said this is "really an idea who's time has come".
He added: "The whole four-day week campaign idea is based on the notion that there is 100 per cent pay, 100 per cent productivity, but with 80 per cent of the working time.
"This is a pilot programme. We believe that there's evidence to the fact that the four-day working week actually insures no loss of productivity.
"That's the experience of companies who have operated it in Ireland, not just that productivity has remained the same, but in some cases it has significantly increased".
Callinan also noted that it is important to give the pilot programme a chance as the country emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said: "The move to a four-day week is a huge step in that direction.
This is a very significant milestone today for the Four Day Week campaign in that we're launching this pilot programme that will operate for the first six months of the year, and we believe that this will provide real evidence to show that it's the direction we need to go".
REMOTE WORKING
When asked about whether the programme will be undermined by more people working from home Callinan said that it won't.
He added: "Remote working or hybrid working, these are all things that can contribute to a better workplace, better working lives, but the four day week is really an idea who's time has come.
"More that 100 years after the achievement of the eight hour day, several decades after the Trade Union movement deliver the weekend, this is now the territory that we need to be in.
"It's not going to happen overnight but we need to plan for it".
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
The Department of Environment, Climate and Communications along with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will work together on researching how reduced working time would affect several things.
These include environmental pollution of travelling to work, employment levels and staff productivity, and gender equality, staff well-being and job satisfaction.
Welcoming the programme, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said: "It’s too early to say whether a four-day working week could work in Ireland.
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"The idea is ambitious, to achieve the same outcomes and productivity, for the same pay with 20% fewer hours worked. I can see how that might work for some roles but it’s hard to see how it would work in others particularly in health, education and manufacturing for example.
"But we need to keep an open mind when it comes to innovations in the world of work. Ideas like annual leave, maternity and paternity leave and flexitime were once seen to be radical and are now the norm".
"This research being commissioned by the Government will give us a much greater understanding of the potential of this idea and that’s why the Department has agreed to co-sponsor it".