Malta Should Adopt Four-Day Working Week Without Reducing Hours, General Workers’ Union Proposes
Malta’s largest trade union, the General Workers’ Union, has come out in favour of a four-day working week without a reduction in the number of hours worked.
“In a fast-paced new world of work, every employee is finding it very hard to reconcile his/her work and his/her family commitment,” the GWU said in a new policy document ahead of the 2022 Budget.
“We are proposing more flexible working arrangements as long as the flexibility still respects the Working Time Directive.”
“We are proposing where possible, and there is an agreement between employers and employees (trade unions) the option to work a 40-hour week spread over four days. This will give an extra day off to the employee.”
The concept of giving employees an extra day off a week while keeping them on the same salary has gained steam in recent years, with proponents arguing that it improves worker satisfaction and therefore productivity.
The likes of Belgium and the Netherlands have introduced it, while trials have been run in the UK, the US, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
The vast majority of companies in the UK which took part in a recent four-day working week trial with reduced hours said they intend to keep it in place after the pilot ends.
Malta’s Finance Minister Clyde Caruana played down the idea of a four-day work week with fewer hours when interviewed by Lovin Malta in 2020, warning that Malta must boost its productivity first.
However, the GWU’s proposal will maintain the regular 40-hour work week, excluding overtime, but stretch it over four days instead of five. In practice, that could mean that workers will work ten hours on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday but take Friday off, along with the rest of the weekend.
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