P-06-1247 We call on the Welsh Government to lead the way by supporting trials of a four-day week in Wales, Correspondence – Petitioner to Committee, 01.03.22

Thanks for the opportunity to respond, and for extending the deadline.

In brief, given the pressing need to make bold and radical changes in order to reach our Net Zero ambitions by 2050, we cannot wait for others to act before acting ourselves. A four day week, in its simplest form, would reduce the commuting requirements for many by 20%. The Co-operation Agreement has proposed to develop the Net Zero ambitions further (by 2035) and as such a four day week trial has to be considered as a part of the policy mix.

Further, the pandemic has shown us that employee well-being is multi-faceted, and reducing hours spent at work is a key way to improve well-being at work and at home. As with other areas of policy, it is imperative we use the post pandemic recovery to seek to learn the positive lessons that are discernible from the last two years, in order to build a fairer, happier and more productive Wales.

Whilst noting the Minister’s letter carefully, I would conclude that my call for Welsh Government to consider its own independent trial of a four day working week remains valid, and I would ask that the Petitions Committee support such a call, perhaps with a short study to augment the recently published excellent work undertaken by Autonomy, on behalf of the Office of the Future Generations’ Commissioner.

Cofion