Suresh Prabhu proposes staggered hours scheme

Suresh Prabhu proposes staggered hours scheme

Kolkata (KOAA): Railway minister Suresh Prabhu suggested that Kolkata adopt a staggered hours scheme for office goers to flatten the peak Metro period. In January this year, Prabhu had met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and suggested the same for Mumbai in order to reduce the rush in the suburban transportation system. Countries like Singapore have adopted to avoid traffic congestion.

Prabhu was asked why Metro hours in Kolkata can’t be extended beyond 10.30 pm when he replied: “Metro Railway works in two shifts at the moment and the timings cant be extended immediately. Since there isnt quickfix solution to this issue, I would suggest a staggered hours scheme for Kolkata. This would reduce the load during peak hours.”

A staggered hour scheme entails different timings of reporting to work and leaving for home. While some offices could ask employees to report at 8 am and work till 4 pm, others can make them start at 9 and end at 5 pm. In countries like Singapore, even individual organizations have staggered timings for separate sets of employees. Even the International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva has a document on this scheme.

“Staggered hours schemes represent one way of easing problems of traffic congestion and over-burdened public transport at certain peak hours. Instead of having all workers arrive and leave at practically the same time, different firms or even different branches of activity could adopt different starting and finishing times. Traffic would thereby flow more smoothly, public transport would be utilized more rationally, and the physical and psychological strain would be lessened for all concerned. These schemes may also make it easier for workers to access cafeterias, childcare facilities and other services,”the ILO document states.

It has also been stated that in Singapore, where traffic congestion is a major problem, the National University Hospital, in 1985, offered staff who do not work shifts the choice of coming to work at 8:00, 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning. The hospital benefited from this scheme by being able to serve customers an extra two hours — from 8:00 to 18:00 — instead of the regular 9:00 to 17:00. The origin of staggered hours in Singapore can be traced back to a 1975 government initiative, which aimed to ease traffic congestion, especially in the city area, and relieve overcrowding at lunchtime.