Ireland : coalition of NGOs and unions join international campaign for a four-day week

On 26 September in Ireland, the creation of a new “coalition of businesses, unions, environmentalists, academics and NGOs” was announced, in line with the international campaign to establish a four-day week, launched in February 2018 in New Zealand and taken up also in the UK. This coalition plans to support employers wanting to establish a four-day working week (see press release). The initiative, dubbed “4DWI” (Four Day Week Ireland), is “the Irish leg of an international campaign to establish a four-day week without reductions in pay or productivity”. It is supported by Fórsa, the first Irish trade union to back the four-day week and the second largest union in the country with 80,000 members. 4DWI is seeking “early dialogue with Government and opposition parties […] to find ways for the State to encourage and support private companies that pilot or introduce reduced working time”, according to the coalition’s statement. The initiative will harness the experience of firms such as Galway-based recruitment company ICE, which has successfully introduced a four-day week (see article n°11167).