Fisher and Paykel Appliances has become the first company to sign up to the New Zealand government’s nine-day working fortnight, after suffering a plunge in sales.
The six month arrangement is expected to save 60 jobs that otherwise would have been lost.
Under the agreement, a 35 hour working week will be supplemented with an additional 3-1/2 hours pay – some of it from the company and some from the Government. A remaining 1-1/2 hours a week may be taken as paid leave to ensure staff are not out of pocket.
In return for the nine-day fortnight, Fisher and Paykel staff will attend a company funded in-house training programme to increase their skills.
The move has been lauded in Parliament by Prime Minister John Key, who says around 20 other companies are considering doing the same thing.