Quỳnh Chi
The Philippines, like some other countries in the Asian region, is currently being affected by extreme heat (Photo: Xinhua).
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the government of Cavite province, located over 30km from the capital Manila, Philippines, has implemented a policy allowing employees to work 4 days a week in the office starting from the end of April to July. Specifically, employees will work from 7am to 6pm from Monday to Thursday each week.
Some other localities have also implemented similar policies, allowing employees to work 4 days a week, except for frontline jobs such as rescue workers, traffic police, and healthcare workers.
The Philippines Department of Labor stated that employers have the right to adjust the 4-day work week and other alternative agreements even without government orders.
The idea of working 10 hours a day, 4 days a week instead of 8 hours a day, 5 days a week is not new in the Philippines. The Minister of Social and Economic Planning of the Philippines proposed this change in 2022 after a steep increase in fuel prices due to the Ukraine conflict.
The Philippines is currently experiencing extreme heatwaves due to the impact of El Nino. According to the country's Ministry of Health, from January 1st to April 29th, the number of heat-related illnesses in the country has risen to 77, with 7 deaths reported. Cavite recorded peak temperatures of up to 48 degrees Celsius on April 24th.
The extreme heatwaves have also forced a number of public schools in the Philippines to switch to online learning mechanisms, similar to the Covid-19 era.
