Nine extra minutes of work a tough sell

The Government has suggested public servants should work an extra nine minutes per day – but it is unlikely to be an easy sell.

According to a report by Fairfax, union officials say staff at the Australian Tax Office could take industrial action if a proposal to add nine more minutes to the work day goes ahead.

Fairfax reports the ATO will start bargaining with employees on Monday, when it is expected they will be asked to work until 5pm instead of 4:51pm and have a freeze on minor pay rises.

An extra nine minutes per day would amount to 45 more minutes per week, making the working week a total of 37.5 hours instead of 36 hours and 45 minutes.

Over the course of the year, this would mean an increase of 39 hours for staff at the ATO, which is believed to enjoy the shortest working week across the entire federal public service.

According to the Australian Services Union, an extra nine minutes a day would be like taking away a week of annual leave.

"It's like asking people to work another five and a third days a year," ASU tax branch secretary Jeff Lapidos said.

Mr Lapidos said it was likely that a tough initial offer would not be improved without employees taking industrial action.

"We're strongly opposed to the lengthening of the working day. I'm expecting we'll take industrial action but that's my prediction, we've made no decision," Mr Lapidos said.

According to the report, Geoscience Australia and the Defence Department have also considered the idea of longer work days.

One suggestion was to take away paid leave over Christmas, which currently doesn’t count towards annual leave – or to force staff to take leave.

But Professionals Australia executive officer Dave Smith isn’t convinced by such changes.

"This is a bundy clock mentality rather than an approach that focuses on real outputs and, dare I say it, genuine productivity," Mr Smith said.

The six-hour work day

One city in Sweden is experimenting with shorter work days in its public sector with the view to roll out the reform across the country. So, the question is, is it something that could work in Australia?

Nine-to-three workday: Will it ever be a reality for Aussies?