Quebec will introduce four day week for parents and caregivers.

MONTREAL -- Quebec's provincial labour standards, some of the most progressive in Canada, will be overhauled to allow for a four-day work week for parents of children under 12-years of age and for those caring for elderly or handicapped relatives.

The announcement to amend the labour standards, which was made by Premier Bernard Landry at a recent party convention, makes Quebec the first province in Canada to introduce the four-day work week. As it is, Quebec boasts the highest minimum wage in the country along with what is considered to be a significant social safety net, including a $5 per day child care program.

France, Netherlands and other countries have a voluntary four day work week and most workers have chosen the shorter work week even if it results in a reduced paycheque. The four day week has created a labour shortage that has been most acute in the health care field.

The new measure is thought to be a move by the Partis Quebecois to help increase Quebec's declining birth rate while taking the wind out of the sails of the Action democratique--the PQ'S main rival for middle class votes.

Condemned by business leaders as a threat to the province's economy, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses predicts the cost of the measure to Quebec's economy will be $300 million per year as opposed to the $100 million per year predicted by Landry.

"In a perfect world, we'd all work two days a week and we'd all be happy," said Richard Fahey, the CFIB provincial vice president. "Would we have the same lifestyle? Would we produce the same goods and services? The answer is no."

However, not surprisingly, the proposed legislative measure met with support from union leaders, including Claudette Carboneau, president of the Confederation of National Trade Unions, who criticized businesses' concerns.

"They cry out when they feel a hand in their pockets," she said, noting that the measure will cost employers only $100 million while also helping 100,000 families. $100 million is a minimal sure when you look at Quebec's GDP (of $220 billion)."

Across the country, trade unions in several provinces have already negotiated collective agreements with companies for reduced work weeks or reduced overtime resulting in the recall of laid off workers or expansion of shifts from two to three. In 1993, the Canadian Auto Workers negotiated a work time reduction and new hiring at the Chrysler minivan plant in Windsor, Ontario whereby regular, daily work hours were reduced from 8 to 7.5 with no reduction in pay plus a reduction in overtime for existing workers and a third shift was added. The result of these moves were 800 new hirings. This formula has since been copied by the Chrysler car plant in Bramalea, Ontario and the GM truck plant in Oshawa, Ontario leading to three-shift operations.

As well, in the mid-1970's the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers, negotiated an agreement for a 37 1/3 hour work week for 16,000 workers in Quebec's pulp and paper industry following a four-week strike.

CEP researcher Julie White says that the reduction created additional jobs at mills while resulting in "a better shift schedule that was a huge improvement for workers' family and social lives."