MANILA — Partido Lakas ng Masa presidential aspirant Leody De Guzman said Friday he wants to have a 6-hour workday for employees to produce more jobs.

During the "Pandesal Forum", De Guzman proposed the said measure in order to address unemployment in the country, explaining that with this measure, more jobs will be created.

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"Kaya may isa akong panawagan na dapat iksian ang oras ng trabaho ng mga manggagawa halimbawa mula sa 8 oras gawing 6 hours nang walang bawas sa sweldo at benepisyo," the labor leader said.

(The working hours of workers should be reduced for example from 8 hours to 6 hours without a reduction in salaries and benefits.)

"‘Yung 2 hours na malilibre ay pwedeng lumikha ng 11 million na mga manggagawa sa mga kasalukuyang may trabaho ngayon kung mababawasan sila ng tigda-dalawang oras ng pagtatrabaho, kapag dumami ang oras na ‘yun ay mabibigay natin doon sa walang trabaho," he claimed.

(The 2 hours that will be freed can create 11 million more workers among those currently employed today. If they are reduced by half to two hours of work, when that time increases we can give it to the unemployed.)

The Philippines’ unemployment rate eased to 6.5 percent in November last year compared to the 7.4 percent level the previous month, the state statistics bureau said on Friday, as the country eased COVID-19 restrictions.

This is equivalent to 3.16 million jobless Filipinos for the month, which is lower compared to 3.5 million in September, data showed.

• 3.16 million jobless as unemployment eases to 6.5 percent in November

De Guzman said this is not an immediate solution as he wants to prioritize other workers' concerns such as contractualization, low wages, and lack of benefits.

Aiming to reverse incumbent president Rodrigo Duterte's politics, De Guzman vowed to end contractualization and raise the minimum wage of workers across the board to P750 per day, placing provincial workers on par with their Metro Manila counterparts.

De Guzman is among the presidential aspirants on the national ballot for the upcoming elections in May together with Vice President Leni Robredo and former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Senators Manny Pacquiao, and Panfilo Lacson, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, former presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella, and former Security Adviser Norberto Gonzalez, Faisal Mangondato, and Jose Montemayor Jr.