Manufacturers Association president calls for 4 day work week

The model calls for the government to bear the cost of paying the salary for the fifth day, when the employees are home through the National Insurance Institute
 
Shraga Brosh, Manufacturers Association president, said last week he would suggest to the Ministry of Finance to support a four day work week, as a way to deal with the growing economic crisis.
 
The suggestion is based on a model originally proposed by Metal and Electrical Industries Association chairman Eli Yaffe.
 
The model calls for the government to bear the cost of paying the salary for the fifth day, when the employees are home through the National Insurance Institute.
 
Brosh repeated his pessimistic outlook, according to which 65,000 workers will be laid off during 2009, but said that a shortened work week could reduce the number of layoffs by 70%,  45,000 jobs.
 
According to Brosh the suggestion will complement an earlier proposal that would let employers to send their workers home on unpaid leave for three months, with the government footing the bill for unemployment benefits. That plan already has the agreement of the cabinet, the industrialists and the unions.