Five-day week must not affect productivity

V.K. Chin The Star Asia News Network Selangor, Malaysia

The estimated one million civil servants must be pinching themselves to make sure that they are not dreaming after having been told that they will be getting a cost of living allowance (Cola) and a five-day week.

Just one of the benefits would have made their day, but two is certainly beyond their expectations.

It will certainly take some time for them to digest the good news.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced the goodies at the civil service Workers Day celebrations at Intan on Monday. He told them he agreed in principle on the two benefits.

What remains to be done is for the relevant departments to look into the details on how to implement them, which is likely to take some time to work out.

Of the two, the easier one is the introduction of a five-day working week, which Cuepacs, the umbrella body for civil service unions, has been asking for for many years now.

The best they got so far was two Saturdays off a month: on the first and third Saturdays of the month, which came into effect a few years ago.

While it makes sense that the workers should get Saturdays off as well, the Government will need to study the implications of a five-day week.

What is important is that such a move must not affect the productivity and performance of the workforce and that the public is not inconvenienced by its implementation.

Many people make use of a Saturday to go to government departments for certain services, as they might not have the time during the weekdays.

So long as these services are not compromised then there should be few complaints about the new working week.

It is good that Pak Lah has given an assurance that counter services in certain departments such as immigration and national registration will be in operation as usual.

The shorter working week will be compensated by longer work hours during the weekdays to make up for the few hours of work on a Saturday.

But the crux of the problem is not the extended hours but how committed the workers will be in performing their duties.

If they want a five-day week, then they should work harder in clearing the work and in serving the public.

The public is not that interested in how many days civil servants are required to work so long as they are efficient in what they do.

A five-day week is appropriate as not much work is normally done on a Saturday.

Since it is a compulsory working day, workers have to show themselves at the office just to spend half a day there.