The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is calling for Australia to adopt a four-day work week in response to Australians continuing to work record-long hours.
Research has shown that workers’ productivity has slowed down post-pandemic and wage growth has stagnated, leaving many employees burnt out and struggling.
The solution, according to the ACTU, is working shorter hours at the same pay.
Next week, the peak union body will argue for shorter working hours and the implementation of a four-day work week across Australia at the Economic Reform Roundtable in Canberra.
It’s a plan ACTU President Michele O’Neil says would benefit both workers and businesses.
“People want to be able to have a life as well as be able to work, and they don’t want to live to work,” she told 9news.com.au.
“We don’t want to see improvements just go to profits, just go to shareholders or executive bonuses.”
The ACTU has proposed businesses introduce a four-day week where possible and, where that model isn’t appropriate, implement more rostered days off, increased annual leave, and redesigned rosters that prioritise employees’ work-life balance.
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Research from Australia and abroad suggests this plan would boost performance, reduce burnout and improve employee health and retention across the country.
It could also help shorten the gap between productivity growth and wage growth in Australia.
Analysis from the Centre for Future Work revealed that if real wages had grown at the same rate as productivity since 2000, Aussies would be making about $350 more per week in 2025.
“Wages improving is critically important for living standards, but workers having more time to live is also important,” O’Neil said.
A reduced work week would also benefit businesses.
“If we’ve got a better balance between our work life and our home life, then when we come to work, we’re more effective, we’re more able to focus, we’re more able to get the job done,” O’Neil said.
“All of these things are benefits for employers, and this is not just unions and the ACTU saying this.”
One 2023 study of ten Australian companies trialling the four-day week revealed that 70 per cent reported higher productivity.
The other 30 per cent reported productivity levels were the same as pre-trial.
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The ACTU argues that businesses across the country could see similar productivity boosts if only they would invest in capital, research and – most importantly – people.
But some sectors disagree.
The Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association (ARCA) said a four-day work week would slash productivity and take a toll on hospitality businesses, especially in CBD.
“We can’t cram service into fewer days,” ARCA CEO Wes Lambert said in a press release.
He said “a blanket four-day rule” would be “a death blow for CBD cafés already struggling” as one in 10 currently face closure.
But ACTU isn’t suggesting a blanket rule across all sectors and industries.
Rather, O’Neil is calling for Australian businesses to consider how shorter working hours for the same pay could be sustainably implemented at an industry and individual level.
“We want to see this change happen in a fast way, but also a fair way.”
