Torres, R-Saipan, said a four-day work week is better than a mass layoff, which may be inevitable if the cash-strapped government’s revenues further decline in the months ahead.
He said the austerity holidays, which will mandate government offices to be shut down every other Friday just like in 2007, will also cut public expenses in utilities and other operational costs.
“I support the four-day work week. It will cut our personnel expenses and operations cost. We don’t know how much money we’ll have down the line. We must cut our spending now,” he said.
The House of Representatives’ $156.7 million proposed budget for fiscal year 2009, which Gov. Benigno R. Fitial vetoed last week, has no provision for austerity holidays.
The Senate amended the bill to include 10 austerity holidays and 13 unpaid holidays to save about $200,000 each payroll in personnel expenses.
The House removed the provision in the final version of the bill that was passed by both houses.
The unpaid and austerity holidays are the equivalent of a reduction of 184 hours in each public servant’s annual take home pay this FY 2009.
The cash-strapped government currently operates under the revised FY 2007 budget ceiling of $163.5 million.
No budget was passed for FY 2008.
