Many workers here are now enjoying a four-day working week and a longer week-end, every week, due to a campaign by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.
Tony Hynds, an industrial organiser for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), told Green Left that workers were wary of the four-day week idea.
“At first workers were very sceptical about the idea,” Hynds said. “At my first members’ meeting of a few hundred people, I was heckled and accused of selling out the rostered day off (RDO) ... But, after a while the idea caught on.
“With no loss of pay or conditions, workers would actually gain and every weekend was a long weekend. That was five years ago; now everyone loves it and would not go back to the RDO system.”
He said the four day work week essentially squashes the 38-hour, five-day week into four days. That means working four time 9.5-hour days, plus the traditional half-hour unpaid lunch break.
There are a couple of versions being adopted right now.
Some companies and groups of members have opted for every Monday off, with overtime if they do work on the Monday.
The other option is that the workplace is split into two groups, with one taking Fridays off and the other taking Mondays off, but the workplace is open five days a week.
Workers at the Geelong Refinery opted for the first version, where everyone works from Tuesday to Friday as their normal work week. They can also do voluntary overtime on Mondays, at standard overtime rates.
There are pros and cons, Hynds said. There is a disadvantage for workers who did an hours’ overtime on 7.6 hours, because it is now subsumed into the 9.5 hours. However, overtime can be done outside of ordinary hours.
Also, a longer day does not always work for those with family commitments, such as school pick-ups.
On the other hand, Hynds said workers can have more quality time with the family each week. Savings can be made in the cost of travel too, as workers have one less day to commute.
Plus, he said, there has been a rise in personal leave credits, as workers take less annual leave or “sickies” to attend to personal matters.
According to Hynds, productivity has risen dramatically because companies can better schedule work rosters. There is less unplanned absenteeism, less administration by ending RDO calculations and less daily start-up energy costs in factories.
Productivity rises have flowed on to an increase in employment opportunities. About 12 companies in the region have included the four-day week in their enterprise agreements with the AMWU, Hynds said.
Hynds expects the four-day working week will “become the norm”. He said as long as the system does not disadvantage workers, where public holidays are still paid, accrual rates for holidays remain, sick leave and long service leave do not change and apprentice training days are not affected, workers are happy.
“Technically it is not a true shorter working week, with no loss in pay,” Hynds said. “However, it is a shorter week in real terms for workers and their families. Any step forward for workers’ quality of life these days is a gain.”
[Tim Gooden is standing for the Socialist Alliance in the Victorian election.]