The House plenum on Thursday is expected to vote on a bill that amends civil servant working hours in an effort to also alleviate traffic issues.
The current hours of the public service are from arrival between 7:30am and 8:30am, with a finishing time from 3pm until 4pm.
The new hours, if voted in, will allow civil servants’ arrival from 7am until 8:30am, and departure between 2:30pm and 4pm.
The amended bill was debated before the House Finance Committee last week.
A study carried out by the Ministry of Transport indicated that a possible extension of the working hours of the public service is expected to contribute to a reduction in traffic of between 4% and 6%.
The Department for Transport had initially proposed extending the arrival hours from 7am to 9am to further reduce congestion – something that the island’s Treasury rejected, insisting on the 7:00am to 8:30am schedule.
As regards the time of arrival and departure of employees of the Ministry of Finance, a different study showed that the percentage of employees who arrive at work before 7.30 a.m. is 15%.
Moreover, the House President will be given the authority to decide on the arrival and departure time of the Parliament’s employees and the implementation of flexible working hours. Because of the nature of the work.
