A 4-day work week could help Sri Lanka’s food crisis

Sri Lanka has announced an unique solution to its food and fuel shortages: working less.

As per Reuters, a foreign exchange shortage has left the country in an economic crisis. This has resulted in the nation has not been able to afford many of its imported essentials (such as food and medicine etc). The residents are now facing hours-long lines at gas stations, power cuts, and a looming food shortage.

Per a report published by the United Nations last week, 5.7 million of the country’s nearly 22 million citizens are in need of “immediate humanitarian assistance” due to shortages of food, energy, work, and medical care. This major crisis can be attributed to several factors, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and currency depreciation. The nation also experienced a disappointing harvest season, yielding 40% to 50% less than the last year. To tackle this, several people have altered diets or reduced their food intake itself.

On June 13, Sri Lanka’s cabinet approved a plan to deal with some of these issues by an unexpected means: The country’s one million public employees will follow a four-day work week for the next three months, as noted by Reuters. By switching to the four-day week, the government hopes to ease the demand for fuel, as people will only need to commute to and from their jobs four times each week.

Additionally, the government is hoping that the new policy will encourage people to grow their own food, protecting them against rising costs and future shortages.

Those affected by the new policy will have every Friday off for the next three months — but their pay will remain the same as when they worked full-time, reported Al Jazeera. Notably, the country’s “essential services” workers will be excluded from participating in the four-day workweek.

Should they want to search for work abroad, any of the country’s public employees will be granted up to five years of unpaid leave, without it impacting their employment status and benefits. In doing so, the government is hoping to increase the amount of foreign currency being sent to the island, said Al Jazeera.

Source: Tasting Table Sri Lanka food shortage solution Sri Lanka food shortage solution