:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elfinanciero/SE336QUXBVGQJCBEZNOJKNAY6A.jpg "Dominican Republic launches pilot plan for 4-day work week – El Financiero")
Private and public companies in the Dominican Republic are preparing to begin a six-month voluntary pilot scheme that shortens the work week to four days, the first time the Caribbean nation has taken such a measure.
The initiative will begin in February and workers will receive the same salaries, according to the Dominican government. The work week will be reduced from 44 to 36 working hours, from Monday to Thursday.
“The goal is to be able to use this time to address family and personal issues and contribute to the health and well-being of the individual, the family and the environment,” said Labor Minister Luis Miguel de Camps.
The participating companies are, among others, Latin American telecommunications giant Claro, Energy company EGE HainaThe heavy equipment manufacturer IMCA and the state-run national health insurance.
A local university will analyze the results, including the impact on workers' health and personal lives.
currently, Companies allocate eight working hours during the week and another four hours on Saturdays; They can distribute it however they want, provided that it does not exceed 44 hours per week.
Last year, Great Britain experimented with a four-day work week and the results are positive.
An increasing number of companies in the United States have adopted the shortened week, while in the United States Chile's legislature reduced the workweek from 45 to 40 hours.
In Mexico, how is the work week shortened?
In December 2023, the Political Coordination Body of the House of Representatives decided that this year would be the date for the vote. Constitutional reformIt will be determined that the work week will move from 48 to 40 hours.
It was agreed that the initiative’s opinion would be presented to the plenary session until the next regular session period, which begins in February and ends on April 30.