The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts that international travel could take until 2024 to return to pre-pandemic levels. Hence, tourism workers from pemandu beca in Kota Melaka to budget hotel workers in Sandakan to keropok sellers in Merang are facing serious economic misery.
From 1st January 2021, the Federal government should reduce the working and schooling days to 4 days per week in order to revive the domestic tourism sector
The Federal government employs 1.71 million government staff and another 300,000 personnel through its GLCs representing nearly 13% of the national workforce. Lengthening the weekend to 3 days a week allows both government staff and parents to take longer domestic holidays with their families, thus reviving domestic tourism.
The bulk of GLC and government workers work in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya but originate from small towns and rural areas in the East Coast, Northern Region or East Malaysia.
Thus, longer weekends will let them travel and spend in their respective hometowns more frequently, boosting small town economies. Implementing a four-day work week is not so complicated because the government’s aggressive push for digitalization is reducing the overall workload.
SHARAN RAJ
Central Committee
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)
&
State Chairperson
Parti Sosialis Malaysia Negeri Melaka (PSM Melaka)