Is Namibia ready for a 4-day work week?
Employers air objections
Tucna welcomes the pilot project which is expected to start in April this year.
The trial run for employees in Namibia to work only four days a week is nearing.This pilot project will make Namibia only the second country in Africa, and one of a handful in the world, which will practically test the applicability of a four-day work week starting in April.
4 Day Week Global recently announced that after its successful trials in South Africa, it now wants to implement the same concept in Namibia.
The international movement's Namibian partner, Jonas Ileka, will bring the 100-80-100 concept to Namibia, which involves doing 100% of the work, in 80% of the time, at 100% salary.
Ileka says the pilot project will last six months, with companies joining from the beginning of April and starting the shortened work week soon after. So far, 18 businesses have agreed to participate, including companies in banking, telecommunications, retail, marketing and the arts, he says.
"The purpose of the trial run is to determine whether the organisations are ready for a four-day work week," he says, and that research, data collection and analysis on productivity, income, job satisfaction, employee well-being and absenteeism will be undertaken continuously.
"For those who are not ready, the data will help them determine how far they are," says Ileka.
'Pipe dream'
However, the Namibian Employers' Federation (NEF) described the initiative in a statement last week as "a pipe dream that is far removed from reality".
Henry Bruwer, the president of the NEF, says that this association was not approached at all about the pilot project, and has no knowledge of plans to introduce a four-day workweek in Namibia.
"It appears that this is a private initiative, with a foreign consultant at the forefront, and which is implemented by a local consultant," he writes.
According to Bruwer, this can have a negative impact on the economy; particularly on healthcare, hospitality and retail, all of which are already facing labour challenges, and must struggle to maintain service levels with fewer employees, if workers only work four days a week.
“A shorter week will reduce productivity in industries that rely on time-based production. Employers may need to invest in automation, or hire additional workers to maintain output levels,” he adds.
According to Bruwer, it would be an administrative burden for companies to apply a four-day work week, and to adapt the current work model would require additional effort and assets, he points out.
"If productivity does not increase in line with the reduced working hours, there may be a reduction in the overall economic output (GDP). This has an impact on taxes and government spending," he elaborates.
Operating costs
"A four-day work week will specifically mean increased operating costs and labour costs for employers due to more overtime pay and investing more in automation, while managers will have to redesign workflows, schedules and operations. Certain employees will come under pressure to complete all the work on time, or to work more hours on the remaining days, says Bruwer.
Uncertainty about the success and long-term impact of the transition to a four-day working week can also upset employers, he says.
"Our economy is already facing growth challenges, with high interest rates and high unemployment the order of the day. Productivity has always been an issue within many industries and a shorter working week can exacerbate the impact on it," the NEF president says.
However, the secretary general of the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (Tucna), Mahongora Kavihuha, sees the development as progress in an age-old struggle to win back employees' time.
"The issue of working hours has been a long battle for trade unions. At that time, workers worked up to 20 hours a day and the eight-hour day was a victory," he says.
According to Kavihuha, the issue of time sovereignty is explored in the latest report from the International Labor Organisation (ILO) on the future of work.
According to him, it is naive in today's changing labour market to link productivity to hours in the office or at work.
“Why must employers always oppose anything that benefits employees? This issue is close to our hearts and we will push it through," he adds. – [email protected]