«Sardinia can become the Italian laboratory for experimenting with the 4-day working week».
Fausto Durante, secretary of the Sardinian CGIL , is convinced of this, who during the last electoral campaign for the regional elections included the topic in the union's "proposals" to the gubernatorial candidates and who today, after the plans for reducing working hours drawn up in other countries , like France , relaunched the idea to the newly elected president Alessandra Todde.
Work less for the same pay. Is it really possible?
«Already two years ago I addressed the topic in a book, entitled “Work less and live better”. Today the issue becomes more and more relevant. And it's not just me who says it, but a lot of research confirms it, not only trade union or "left-wing" studies, but also scientific studies of liberal inspiration."
And what do these studies say?
«They confirm that, just as the twentieth century was the century of the transition to 8 hours of work per day, the twenty-first, the one in which we find ourselves living, could be the century of 32 hours of work per week, divided over four days».
Why is the time ripe?
«Because the need for human labor is progressively decreasing. We are in the era of technology, innovation and artificial intelligence applied to production processes. And the work done by human beings is already inevitably becoming marginalized. Therefore it is necessary to change the approach."
How?
«Starting from the assumption that new technologies, intelligent machines, robots and so on will take care of most of the work, it is possible to divide the residual work time borne by human beings among several people. This way more people will work, but they will work less. Obviously, without prejudice to equal pay."
But if machines have the upper hand, won't we risk having an infinite mass of former human workers "on the loose"?
«Yes, if social corrective measures are not introduced there is the risk of having on one side a restricted elite of highly specialized human workers and on the other a mass of new plebeians with poor skills. For this reason it is necessary to govern the process and distribute the work that will not be carried out by machines among all workers, without exception."
Just theory? Or do practical experiments already exist?
«There are many. In France, in Belgium, in Iceland, in Spain. In Valencia, for example, the local government and companies have signed an agreement based on incentives to try to reduce working hours to 4 working days for a total of 32 hours per week. Companies have been paid up to 9,000 euros per worker to try and test the new regime. Furthermore, for a month, municipal employees also experienced reduced working hours."
And how did it end?
«That productivity has increased, as has the turnover of the companies involved and the satisfaction of the workers».
So isn't more time at work synonymous with productivity?
«Not at all: an average Italian worker works 200 hours more than a German worker and 300 hours more than a French worker in a year. But I challenge anyone to say that we are more productive than the Germans and the French. Furthermore…".
Furthermore?
«Furthermore, the request for tests to reduce working hours today, even in our country, no longer originates solely from the unions. Very often companies contact us to find agreements to reorganize work and reduce hours. This is because, in light of the data, even those who deal with management now agree that productivity is not a question of how many hours you spend in front of the PC, in the office, in the factory or in a hospital. The quality of the work counts. If you are placed in a modern and technologically advanced environment you can work less, producing more. And, above all, having more free time and, therefore, more well-being and personal satisfaction."
In Sardinia, despite the many gaps, is reducing working hours an achievable objective?
«I am convinced so. And, as I said, there are countless studies that confirm that this must be the way forward. But we need a non-ideological approach to the issue. And real political will. This is why we are relaunching our appeal to the governor in pectore Alessandra Todde. A challenge: to try to make Sardinia a laboratory for experimenting with the four-day working week, finding appropriate agreements with companies."