Introducing a four-day working week for public sector employees would reduce the public sector‘s expenses by up to 20 percent, says prime minister Andrius Kubilius.

„The suggestion to introduce a four-day working week to a public sector means that payment expenses could be reduced not by 10, but by 20 percent. But I do not know, if all the burden of the recession has to be laid on public sector workers‘ shoulders. I do not know, if that could be introduced, let‘s say, to budget sector – teachers of doctors,“ Kubilius said on Wednesday after the meeting with ruling coalition partners.

According to him, the suggestion to let institutions decide how many days should they work is „not bad“, but the four-days working week would be equal to two months of leave of absence.

The chief analyst of DnB Nord Rimantas Rudzkis said on Tuesday that it is not necessary to reduce the wages or fire the employees – it would be enough to legalise the incomplete working week.

Seimas speaker Irena Degutiene agreed with this opinion.

Meanwhile the biggest opposition fraction – the social democrats – doesn’t support the suggestion to reduce the working week to four days. In case of emergency, we could shorten the working hours, they say.

The payment funds of public sector, including state service, should be reduced by 10 percent next year or 826 million Litas to meet budget plans. The cuts are being made due to the struggle to reduce the budget deficit, which is estimated to reach 9,5 percent of GDP.

Alfa.lt/English