MAP bucks shorter work-week

MANILA, Philippines — The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) has joined the opposition against the planned shorter work-week bill in Congress saying such move will not address the unemployment problem of 11 million Filipino workers and the competitiveness issues affecting the country.

Earlier, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, the Joint Foreign Chambers and the Makati Business Club aired their disagreements over the proposed measure.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo has proposed “Four-Day Work Week Act of 2011,” which will require workers to work 10 hours a day from Monday to Thursday, from the current 8 hours a day, five days a week.

“Without empirical data to support the claim the workers will save billions of pesos in transport fare by reducing one workday per week, the author simply presumes and hopes that workers and families will stay put in their homes on their day off and not be tempted to go malling,” MAP said echoing ECOP president’s Ed Lacson’s statement.

MAP also said the proposed bill accepts as fact the unproven benefit of prolonged holiday economics.

The country lags in competitiveness ranking and by working only four days a week (albeit compensating with a two hour extension for four nights) while the rest of the world work continuously five or six days a week, it will not be unexpected that we will further slide down in the competitiveness ladder.

In addition, MAP said the bill ignores the risk to workers’ health and safety by ignoring the universal norm (as prescribed by ILO) of eight working hours per day. To cite two specific examples – Manual labor and machine operators working on additional two hours for four days may suffer fatigue and loss of concentration on the job and may endanger their health and life and that of their fellow workers.

Workers’ efficiency and productivity may suffer due to fatigue caused by the stressful two-hour extension for four nights and may result in off-spec products.

The alleged savings for employers on electricity, water, etc. by compressing the workweek is totally negated by the eight-hour extension for four days, the statement said.

It will also derail the country’s integration with the rest of the ASEAN region as the bill will compel all sectors, public and private, to cut working days to four a week when the global economy, especially the stock markets, are in operation five days a week.

ASEAN is working towards integration of markets and the Philippines will be disconnected one day each week should the bill become law.

“Good intentions alone should never be the only criteria for passing a bill into law. Complete staff work and research must include the analysis on the impact of any bill on the economic, social, business environment and the country’s global competitiveness,” ECOP said in an earlier statement.

MBC also said that Congress should better prioritize the 32 priority bills that have been identified by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

“There are very clear priority bills and we are hoping that Congress can focus on these rather than go on different directions,” said Peter Perfecto, executive director of the Makati Business Club.

Perfecto even said he was not aware of any country in the top ranks of the Global Competitiveness Survey with a four-day work week policy. Australia is known for its four-day work week schedule.

Martin Crisostomo, representing the Business Process Association of the Philippines, said the BPO sector has a different business model and that the proposal should be studied further to determine its impact to this 24/7 industry.

The business groups have identified five priority bills they would like Congress to pass immediately. These are Rationalization of Fiscal Incentives, Anti-Trust, Data Privacy Law, Customs Modernization and Tariffs Act, Anti-Smuggling, Forest Management and Creative Industries. (BCM) –Manila Bulletin