Four-day Work Week Starts for Gov’t Agencies in PH

Several government agencies have started implementing a four-day workweek with a one-day work-from-home scheme to combat the rising oil price and conserve energy.

This comes as the Court of Appeals (CA), Sandiganbayan, and Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) started to adopt the new work scheme for its employees and higher officials on April 4.

The agencies are following the Supreme Court’s move of adopting a four-day workweek that also started on April 4.

Court officials together with employees will report on-site for four days every week and will work from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the remaining one workday to be under a work-from-home arrangement under the new scheme.

The said agencies coordinated on the matter through a memorandum dated March 30, 2022, and signed by Presiding Justices Remedios Salazar-Fernando of the CA, Amparo Cabotaje-Tang of Sandiganbayan, and Roman del Rosario of the CTA.

Moreover, the employees of each office were divided into two groups to maintain a consistent number of on-site personnel the whole week.

Under the new scheme, one group will report on-site from Monday to Thursday and the other from Tuesday to Friday.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua and Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi suggested a four-day workweek last March to alleviate the burden of rising oil prices, albeit with longer hours.

Under the proposed four-day workweek of Chua and Cusi, workers will still render 40 hours per week, with workers working for 10 hours for the four-day workweek instead of the regular 8 hours.

“Magtatrabaho pa rin po ang bawat Pilipino ng 40 hours per week pero imbes na sa limang araw ay apat na araw, pero imbes na walong oras kada araw, magiging sampung oras kada araw, (Every Filipino will still work 40 hours per week, however, it will only be for four days, but instead of working for 8 hours, it will be 10 hours per day)” Chua said during a televised meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte that aired on March 16. (GFB)