MANILA - Instead of a four-day work week, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) recommends allowing companies and offices to come up with their own measures to cope with the intense heat in the country. 

ECOP President Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr., said this in light of suggestions to reduce the number of working days.

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He said companies are the ones who know best how to help their employees.

Ortiz-Luis said providing free water is one such remedy. Improving ventilation and installing air conditioning units can also be done, he said.

He warned that changing the work schedule may not be appealing to investors.

“Nasisira yung schedules nila, nasisira yung planning nila, pati costing nila nasisira,” Ortiz-Luis said. 

(Their schedules get disrupted--their planning and costing, too.)

Ortiz-Luis also said employers will find it hard to pay for overtime which some groups are pushing for since a four-day work week will mean 10 hours in a day for four days, instead of the usual eight hours in five days.

For Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, there is not one solution to the heat problem. He agreed with ECOP, however, that employers are in the best position to work out a solution.

“They are more knowledgeable ano yung applicable o puwedeng makatulong (what is applicable or what can help) without sacrificing or jeopardizing the health and safety of the workers and at the same time balancing it with requirements of the company or the firm,” Laguesma said in an interview.

According to Laguesma, their agency is ready to help any office make guidelines in addressing the needs of those in government and private firms.

He says dialogue and compromise are needed to arrive at a win-win situation.

“You cannot have one size fits all,” Laguesma stated.

“Talagang dapat pag-usapang mabuti nung mga affected na parties. Para nang sa ganun maiwasan yung mga misunderstanding tapos mag-fa-file ng kaso.”

(The affected parties should really talk thoroughly. This way, misunderstanding and filing of cases will be avoided.)