Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The debate for shorter workweeks is not a new one. In 1926, Henry Ford brought in the fiveday workweek, and it wasn't until 1960 that Canadian formally adopted a 40hour workweek. And Mr. Speaker, I believe it is time that the NWT be a leader in introducing the fourday workweek.
The pandemic has brought the debate of the fourday workweek back into light as workplaces seek to find a better worklife balance and, as we all know, many workplaces have struggled with recruitment and retention. The GNWT is not alone in that.
Mr. Speaker, numerous municipalities, including Guysborough, Nova Scotia and Sackville, New Brunswick, have switched their staff to a fourday workweek. They found that sick days went up and, in some cases, so did productivity, Mr. Speaker.
Numerous tech companies across the world are introducing summer Fridays where they introduce the fourday workweek across the summer, Mr. Speaker. I believe this is a step we could take; perhaps a great followup to the infamous Donny Days.
Mr. Speaker, in February, the country of Belgium announced that it would be introducing the fourday workweek, along with a right to disconnect and ignore messages from employers outside of work hours. I would love that right, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I applauded the Minister of Finance when she brought in the Work From Home Policy and I believe it is time that we introduce a fourday workweek. There is a lot of different ways this could work, Mr. Speaker. One option is four 10hour shifts, so the amount of hours is not actually worked but people can take Fridays or Mondays off. Another option is to shorten the days and hopefully we can negotiate actually lowering the pay, Mr. Speaker. At some point, I don’t believe that our retention issues are going to be solved by paying our public servants more money but I think offering them a fourday workweek might really help our recruitment and retention, Mr. Speaker.
Later today I will have questions of the Minister of Finance about whether we can become a leader in this area and one of the most flexible employers and encourage our private sector to do so as well, so people can get out there and enjoy long weekends all summer, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Returns to oral questions oh, sorry. Member for Nahendeh.
