The Australian Greens welcome ACTU's calls for shorter working weeks with the same pay, and want it on the top of the agenda at the Government's upcoming productivity roundtable.
The Australian Greens took the policy to the 2025 election, calling for Australia to pave the way for a 4-day work week through nationwide trials across a range of industries coordinated by a new National Institute for the Four Day Work Week. The policy backed in a commitment by the Greens to work towards shorter working hours with no loss of pay that will help improve our workplaces and support healthier lives.
As stated by Australian Greens spokesperson for workplace relations Senator Barbara Pocock:
"In recent decades, the profit share of GDP has risen while workers' share has shrunk. Workers are fed up and burnt out. They've done unpaid overtime, suffered real wage cuts, and face an expectation of constant connection with their workplace. It's time for the workers to get their fair share.
"We know that four-day working weeks for the same pay, actually work. Various trials both here in Australia and internationally have shown this to be true. Four-day working weeks boost the health and happiness of workers while allowing the productivity of businesses to soar. It's a win for workers and a win for workplaces. The Government must put the four-day working week on the Productivity Roundtable agenda.
"Shorter work weeks increase productivity, reduce absenteeism, improve recruitment and retention and give employees more time to manage their home life. This change will allow workers to create a working week that works for them.
"Australia has made big gains in flexible working hours, working from home, and disconnecting from our jobs after hours. The obvious next step is a four-day working week.
"Our society is changing, more women and carers are at work, yet we are constrained by archaic labour laws that see the fruits of our efforts swallowed up in profits for bosses and shareholders. This is about justice for working people. We work to live, not live to work.
"With the increasing presence of AI in many industries, we need to ensure that the productivity benefits gained from AI are actually shared with workers, not eaten up by profit. By providing employees with a four-day working week we can ensure justice for workers in a modern labour market. It's time for Australia to move its workplaces into the 21st century and create a pathway for shorter hours."
