Senate observes four-day workweek

The Senate will implement a four-day workweek in compliance with the government’s energy conservation effort, starting this week until June 17.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said yesterday that all Senate employees are required to work 10 hours a day from Monday till Thursday for a total of 40 hours a week.

In a policy order, Drilon said work will start at 8 a.m. and extend until 7 p.m. with a one-hour lunch break.

All flexi-time schedules and overtime work are suspended during the compressed two-month period except when extremely necessary.

Drilon enjoined his colleagues in the chamber to observe the four-day workweek and apply it to their own employees at their discretion.

Drilon’s order came after Malacañang approved the temporary shortening of the workweek for all government agencies in a move to cut down on government consumption of electricity during summer.

The government assures the new work schedule would not reduce the productivity of government workers, whose job performance during this experiment will be monitored. The monitoring will be conducted in strict compliance with civil service regulations and labor laws, Malacañang said. — Christina Mendez