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4-day work week bad for workers, say employers

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/08/28/20170828-labor-cannery-afp-1.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Filipino cannery workers process sardines at the Mega Fishing Corporation in southern Zamboanga City on February 25, 2009. Mike Therence Koh, AFP</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - A compressed work week will not be good for workers&#x27; health and family life, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) reiterated on Monday.ECOP chairman Donald Dee told ANC&#x27;s Market Edge that while a compressed work week will have little impact on employers, making employees work longer hours will be detrimental to workers&#x27; health.Dee said ECOP members had already experimented with a 4-day work week 10 years ago and the results were not ideal for workers.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ePEGApO1Xcs" width="560"></iframe></figure>&quot;In my case, I had workers who were fainting because they were so tired.&quot;Congress last week <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/27/17/compressed-work-week-bill-gets-house-nod">approved</a> on third reading House Bill 6152, which allows companies to compress their work weeks into 4 or 5 days instead of the normal 5-6 days by having employees work beyond 8 hours each day. The bill&#x27;s proponents said the measure will allow workers to have a longer weekend and spend more time with their families. Dee, however, said that given the traffic situation in Metro Manila, the family life of employees would also suffer in a compressed work week scheme.&quot;What time do they have for their kids who are already asleep when they go home, who are still asleep when they leave the home?&quot; Dee said. Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) also criticized the proposed 4-day work week saying forcing employees to work more than 8 hours a day is a violation of international labor standards. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines meanwhile said the compressed work week bill was a good proposal because it could be done on a voluntary basis. TUCP said that before any change in the work week happens, employers and employees would first have to agree on the changes.

A compressed work week will not be good for workers' health and family life, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) reiterated on Monday.

A compressed work week will not be good for workers' health and family life, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) reiterated on Monday.