Ontario NDP, Liberals eye four-day work weeks in proposed pilot projects
CTV
Two Ontario political parties are promising to explore a four-day work week if they form government, an idea that has met with great success in one southwestern township, but business groups are wary.
Two Ontario political parties are promising to explore a four-day work week if they form government, an idea that has met with great success in one southwestern township, but business groups are wary.
The Liberals pledge to launch a "demonstration" to show the potential of a four-day work week, consulting with business and labour groups to design and evaluate the model.
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said the pandemic has spurred the need for an examination of work-life balance.
"For so many workers and their families across this province, despite the fact that they show up, despite the fact that they work hard every single day, they are falling further and further behind," he said.
"This notion of balance between work and life really has spiraled out of control. I think in particular, during the pandemic, people are exhausted, they're burnt out, we see worker productivity dropping."
The NDP say they would reintroduce one of their private member's bills from 2021 that would establish a four-day work week commission to develop recommendations on how to implement a year-long pilot project.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said it would allow the government to both explore the opportunities that a compressed work week could bring but also identify any challenges that arise.
