Presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo backed the proposal for a four-day work week in the country amid the rising fuel prices, but stressed the need to ensure that workers will not be shortchanged.
During the Comelec’s “PiliPinas Debates 2022: The Turning Point” for presidential candidates on Saturday, March 19, the Vice President agreed with labor leader Leody de Guzman who earlier said that workers need to take home the exact salary they are earning right now.
“Agree ako kay Ka Leody na kailangan siguraduhin na ‘yung take home ng mga manggagawa hindi masho-shortchange (I agree with Ka Leody that we need to make sure that the take home of the workers they will not be shortchanged),” Robredo said.
“Hindi pwede na ang kwenta nito four days lang sila nagtrabaho. Kailangan commensurate sa oras na tinarabaho nila ‘yung take home nila (The computation of this must not be based only on the four days they worked. Their take home needs to be commensurate to the work they do),” she added.
The Vice President also agreed with fellow candidate Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao that the different sectors, workers, and employers need to be heard regarding their concerns.
She said that not all industries will benefit from a four-day work week.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua proposed to President Duterte a four-day work week to help businesses cut costs and insulate workers from the rising fuel costs because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Chief Executive is set to decide on the matter on Monday, March 21, but labor leaders said that employees need to agree on this because the proposal will be against the eight-hour workday.
The proposal included working 10 hours a day to complete a 40-day work week.
Robredo attended the presidential debate with eight other presidential candidates. Former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the only presidential candidate who did not join the debate.