CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY(MindaNews/9 March) –Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando Uy has ordered the implementation of a four-day compressed work week for all City Hall employees and offices to help conserve energy amid rising fuel prices.
Jade Adecer, the city information officer, said Uy directed the implementation of the still unsigned executive order starting Monday.
“Starting today, City Hall employees will leave their offices at 7 p.m. Additional two hours have been added to their regular workdays from Monday to Thursday,” Adecer said.
Under the arrangement, Adecer said city government offices will operate two additional hours for four days each week as part of the local government’s efforts to reduce electricity consumption and operational costs.
He said there will be no work on Fridays, in line with Memorandum Circular No. 114 issued by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a result of continuing tensions in the Middle East which is driving global fuel prices upwards.
Adecer said exempted from the order are the City Hospital, the Road and Traffic Administration, the City Health Office, and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, which provide essential emergency services.
The memorandum also instructed department heads at City Hall to limit electricity consumption and adopt other energy-saving measures in their respective offices.
Adecer said Mayor Rolando Uy is also encouraging local traders to adopt the compressed work week arrangement in their shops and establishments.
Local business leaders, however, expressed caution about implementing the four-day work week program, saying it could do more harm than good to the local economy.
Businessman George Goking, former city councilor and president of the Xavier University Alumni Association, said he could not see how the compressed four-day work week would result in savings for the city government.
“Extending the work hours of City Hall employees means additional costs for them because they would have to buy dinner instead of eating at home,” Goking said.
Ralph Paguio, senior vice president of Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company and business sector representative to the Regional Development Council 10, said their firm, being an essential power utility, is exempt from the program.
Paguio said many local traders may also hesitate to participate in the four-day work week program being implemented by the city government.
“Business establishments are already bracing for increases in commodity prices and would rather recover these costs through increased sales than absorb the additional expenses,” Paguio said.
Starting this week, the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato have implemented 4-day work week and Work-From-Home set-up to save on energy. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)
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