The People Power Party on Monday pledged to adopt a 40-hour, 4.5-day workweek to create a slightly more flexible working environment as part of its presidential campaign.
“The five-day workweek and 52-hour workweek are standardized systems that do not reflect the current way things are going and the industrial diversity, which can hinder both productivity and autonomy,” said party Emergency Committee Chair Kwon Young-se during a meeting held on Monday.
He proposed introducing the pilot program at Ulsan’s Jung-gu Office, where a 40-hour workweek in which the staff work one extra hour each day and then work only four hours on Friday, has been adopted.
“Because the overall working hours don’t change, there will be no change in people's salaries. This new system is a realistic alternative that maintains the existing 5-day workweek while providing the practical work-life balance effect of a 4.5-day workweek through flexible time allocation."
The main conservative party also proposed scrapping the maximum legal workweek of 52 hours. Secured in 2018 under the liberal Moon Jae-in administration, the policy limits work hours to 40 hours a week plus up to 12 hours of overtime, significantly cutting the previous legal maximum of 68 hours per week.
“(The 52-hour workweek) hinders various forms of flexible work arrangements that reflect the characteristics of different industries and job functions. A flexible work environment is necessary in the field, where people can work intensively during busy periods and take sufficient rest when work is light,” according to Kwon.
ddd@heraldcorp.com
