Labor group slams compressed workweek bill

MANILA, Philippines — Compressing a workweek to just four days is anti-worker, Defend Job Philippines claimed yesterday.

The Compressed Work Week (CWW) bill approved by the Senate will only worsen the current state of workers nationwide, the group added.

“The ultimate objective of the CWW bill is nothing but to extract more profit from the sweat and blood of our toiling people while maintaining their wages at the lowest rate possible,” said Defend Job Philippines spokesman Christian Lloyd Magsoy.

A version of the bill is pending at the House of Representatives.

If the bill is enacted into law, Magsoy warned, workers will be required to work 12 hours, four days a week while receiving no additional wages and no overtime pay.

“Such move of the (Senate) robs the victory of the struggles of workers across the globe for eight-hour work. They also exposed that prior to the CWW bill, there were companies implementing 12-hour work among their workers,” Magsoy added.

Magsoy said the measure will only benefit big businesses as this will mean bigger profit for them while exploiting their workers.

He also said the CWW will intensify contractualization and lead to massive displacement of workers.

A majority of young contractual workers, Magsoy noted, will suffer from the extended and flexible labor setup, without the security of tenure in their workplace.

Magsoy added that the measure will result in health hazards and violations of existing occupational health and safety law.

“Workers have families too and longer working hours will lessen the time they can spend with their loved ones,” he added.

Contrary to the claim that the four-day workweek would mean longer time for workers to interact with their families, Magsoy said the additional vacant day will be spent only for rest and sleep as they had worked longer hours.

Instead of the CWW, Magsoy maintained the Senate should have passed measures favoring national minimum wage, security of tenure and end of contractualization.