TOYOTA AND PSA CUT NIGHT SHIFTS IN CZECH PLANT

KOLIN (CTK, Autofox) - Czech plant of Toyota Motor and PSA in Kolin has introduced eight-hour work shifts as of December 6, 2016. Employees will go to work five days a week but have so far worked ten-hour shifts in four days. Thanks to the change the burden of staff will decrease, a spokesman for Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile Czech (TPCA) Marek Hovorka said. This is the first change in working hours in ten-year existence of the factory in Kolin.

Employees will have more rest between shifts and will operate in morning and afternoon shifts. “The main reason for this change for us was to reduce the burden on our staff. Nearly 1,000 of them have worked for us for 10 years, and we want them to continue to work with us,” Hovorka added.

The change in working hours, according to him, means considerable financial costs for TPCA. According to him, preference shall be given to the health of employees. TPCA has to, for example, hire new maintenance staff, because the complete maintenance of TPCA in connection with the change of the shift operation shifts continuous operation. “We also had to build a new parking lot for 600 cars to ensure enough places for employees near the entrance to the factory during a shift change,” Hovorka added.

“Eight hours of work will reduce the burden on our employees both mentally and physically. In the long run it is not good to work at night, so we wanted to introduce eight-hour day,” said a representative of the Association of Independent Trade Unions (ASO) Imrich Rezek. According to a research carried out by the Ohio State University (OSU), an eight-hour working day, five days a week is better for staff. A four-day work week with extended (ten) working hours, according to research, increases fatigue and stress, which contributes to the emergence of lifestyle diseases such as heart disease or asthma.

However, some TPCA employees do not like the new working hours scheme due to the fact that they would have to go to work one day more.

Employees of Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, who work in three shifts, also work in eight-hour shifts.

TPCA has nearly 3,000 employees in two shifts.