The Central government on Wednesday made it clear that there is no such plan to introduce four-day work week or 40 working hours a week system for central government offices. This was announced by Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar in the Lok Sabha. “Presently, there is no such proposal to introduce four days a week or 40 hours a week for Central Government officials,” he said.
It is informed that the working days/ Holiday/ working hours in administrative offices of Central Government of India are recommended by the respective Central Pay Commissions.
“Based on the fourth pay commission recommendation, five days a week and eight and half hours working per day in civil administrative offices of Government of India was introduced,” he said. The Seventh Central pay Commission has recommended that the status quo may be maintained, the minister added.
The minister also added that the working days/ Holiday/ working hours in administrative offices of Central Government of India are recommended by the respective Central Pay Commissions. He also informed that based on the fourth pay commission recommendation, five days a week and eight and half hours working per day in civil administrative offices of Government of India was introduced.
Earlier, the Centre had introduced a five-day work week after the fourth pay commission’s recommendations. The primary objective was to give more leisure time to the employees which leads to better work-life balance and also improves their efficiency.
The proposal: The proposed new labour codes could provide companies with the flexibility of four working days in a week, even as the working hours limit of 48 hours for a week will remain “sacrosanct”, Labour and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said on Monday.
This implies that there will be longer working hours if the working days are reduced. For instance, a four working day week will have to meet the 48-hour weekly work hours, resulting in daily shifts of 12 hours, which will correspondingly reduce if there is five-day or six-day working week.
