Pilot plan to reduce working hours begins today

Santo Domingo—The voluntary pilot plan to reduce working hours from 44 to 36 hours per week, announced by the Ministry of Labor, began this Thursday, with the participation of three private companies and two public institutions.
The initiative, which will last six months, three months of execution, and three months of information gathering and processing, seeks to improve the collaborators’ quality of life and the companies’ productivity.

According to Minister Luis Miguel De Camps, if the results are positive, that is, if productivity is maintained or increased and labor stress is reduced, the plan will be expanded, with a call for more companies to join the initiative.

The official clarified that if the plan is successful, it would not be necessary to touch the Labor Code, which establishes 44 hours per week of work, but that there will be regulatory facilitations so that it can be more generalized, where companies and workers can reach agreements to apply the scheme.

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The participating companies are CLARO, IMCA, EGE HAINA, National Health Insurance (SENASA), and Single System of Beneficiaries (SIUBEN).

The points of analysis will be in charge of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM). They will be worker health and welfare, work-life balance, absenteeism, and environmental contribution.