BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The provincial government of Negros Occidental will implement a four-day work week for a gradual return to normalcy under a general community quarantine.
“The Civil Service Commission (CSC) came up with several proposals and the four days (of work) a week is just right (for us),” said Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson.
The provincial government has been functioning with a skeletal work force for more than a month under an enhanced community quarantine which halted public transportation here.
Lacson said the new work model would start on Friday, May 22.
Provincial government employees will work for four days at the capitol and on the fifth day of the week will work from home.
The CSC set interim guidelines on alternative work arrangements and safety protocols for government workers under a state of national emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Under CSC Memorandum Circular No. 10, constitutional bodies, departments, bureaus, and agencies, government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters, local government units (LGUs), and state universities and colleges (SUCs) are covered by the guidelines.
The CSC said accomplishment reports must be submitted to it during the duration that alternative work arrangements are adopted.
Aside from this, government offices are also expected to ensure that workers wear facemasks, take their body temperatures, and provide sanitation stations.
Support mechanisms for employees like health and psychosocial interventions, provision of personal protective equipment, and “reasonable” transportation facilities and housing quarters should also be made available to government workers, the CSC added./PN
