Australian Services Union backs Medibank’s 4-day work week trial

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A key union is pushing for agreements for South Australians to have four-day working weeks – and others may follow suit.

The Australian Services Union, which secured a four-day week at full-time pay for Oxfam staff in a recent agreement, says it is looking to replicate the deal in some of its current negotiations.

It comes as Australia’s biggest health insurer, Medibank, will trial a four-day working week with no loss of pay for the next six months.

Medibank will partner with Macquarie University to study the trial, which will involve 250 employees.

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Australian Services Union SA & NT secretary Abbie Spencer said the union was an “early endorser” of the concept.

“Large-scale international trials tell us that a four-day working week doesn’t only benefit workers by providing greater flexibility and work-life balance,” she said.

PSA general secretary Natasha Brown. Picture: Mike Burton

“Our members are telling us that flexibility at work is important to them. We believe that providing the option to work four days with no loss of pay is one way of achieving this.

“The ASU SA + NT Branch is proposing a four-day week in some of our current bargains with South Australian employers. We’re confident that once more employers come to understand the mutual benefits, more will come on board.”

The Public Service Association said it would begin formal negotiations with the state government in late 2024 for a new salaried enterprise agreement covering 40,000 public sector workers.

“Of importance in striking any agreement will be a wage outcome that addresses recent significant increases in the cost of living and maintains pace with rising inflation,” PSA general secretary Natasha Brown said.

“In the lead-up to enterprise bargaining negotiations, our union will seek the views of our members about what conditions and entitlements they want to see in their next agreement, and their views may or may not include options such as a four-day working week.”

SA Unions secretary Dale Beasley said that securing better work-life balance through “things like four-day weeks” was “not only possible, but it’s totally achievable”.

But he warned that success would hinge on employees having the right to switch off on their days off, as constant phone and email notifications was “blurring boundaries between work and home life”.

Medibank’s Kylie Bishop said her company’s trial would involve an 100:80:100 model, whereby employees cut their work hours by 20 per cent but maintain existing productivity and pay levels.

Other Australian companies, including Telstra, NIB and Grant Thornton, have also either drafted plans involving shortened working weeks with no loss of productivity or cementing their shift to hybrid working, sparked during the Covid-19 pandemic.