Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) President Edgardo G. Lacson said the shortened workweek, as proposed by Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, would hurt productivity.

The Philippines, Lacson noted, has 21 national, legal and special holidays, “already one of the highest in the world.”

House Bill (HB) No. 5257, authored by Rep. Castelo, will compel all sectors, public and private, to cut working days to four (4) a week when the global economy especially the stock markets, are in operation from five (5) days a week, Lacson pointed out. The ASEAN is working towards integration of markets, and the Philippines will be disconnected one (1) day each week should this bill become law, Lacson added.

Lacson noted that the country already lags in competitiveness ranking and thus, by working only 4 days a week &ndash albeit compensating with a 2-hour extension for 4 nights &ndash while the rest of the world work continuously 5 or 6 days a week, it will not be expected that the country will further slide down in the competitiveness ladder.

Castelo said employers will benefit from the “enormous” savings on maintenance and operational expenditures. He also cited that costs incurred on electric bills, water bills, gasoline, communication services on Fridays could also be rechanneled.

Disputing such claims, the ECOP leadership said the alleged savings for employers on electricity, water, etc. by compressing the workweek is totally negated by the 8-hour extension for 4 days.

Moreover, Lacson noted that the bill ignores the risk to workers’ health and safety by ignoring the universal norm &ndash as prescribed by the International Labor Organization (ILO) of 8 working hours per day. He cited, for instance, manual labor and machine operators working on additional 2 hours for 4 days may suffer fatigue and loss of concentration on the job and may endanger his health and life and that of his fellow workers.

At the same time, Lacson said workers’ efficiency and productivity may suffer due to fatigue caused by the stressful 2-hour extension for 4 nights and may result in off-specification products.