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Friday, March 29, 2024

House okays 35-week work in private sector

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Congress has approved on second reading a proposed measure seeking to reduce the average weekly 40-hour work schedule to 35-hour for employees in the private sector.

Salceda, chair of the House committee on ways and means chairperson and co-chair of the economic recovery cluster, authored House Bill No. 309, stating that employers may implement a 35-hour work week scheme provided that terms and conditions agreed upon are not less than the minimum labor standards set by law.

Voting via voce, the House of Representatives approved the bill to allow employees in the private sector to work for 35 hours a week maximum as an alternative work arrangement.

“Length of stay in the workplace does not necessarily equate productivity, and we have known that now to be true in the age of work-from-home,” Salceda said.

“Flexibility in work places accommodated the special needs of families, mothers, and older workers. Shorter worker hours saved on utility bills, and resulted in fewer cars on the road during rush hours,” he added.

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“This should be understood in the context of our comprehensive effort to make the economy more skills-based and more output-based,” he further said, citing his 21st Century Skills Act and Comprehensive Education Reform Agenda bills.

He said that his proposed reforms woukr break down “so many false assumptions about productivity.”

Under the measure, an employer shall ensure that an employee working for 35 hours a week shall receive rate of pay, including overtime, night shift differential and other similar benefits; have the right to rest periods, and be provided by the employer with written information on the terms and conditions of the 35-hour working week scheme and the responsibilities of the employees.

Salceda clarified that this is an “alternative working arrangement,” and does not necessarily force all workplaces to make this shift.

He believes that such arrangement could result in productivity and quality-of-life gains.

“With government planning for heavily investing in infrastructure development to improve connectivity across the country, including in Metro Manila where traffic chaos is a daily reality, the State must adapt its labor policies to help workers develop a work-life balance,” he said.

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