Venezuela State Employees to Work Two-Day Week to Save Energy
By REUTERS

CARACAS — Venezuela’s socialist government ordered public workers on Tuesday to work a two-day week as an energy-saving measure in the crisis-hit South American OPEC country.

President Nicolas Maduro had already given most of Venezuela’s 2.8 million state employees Fridays off during April and May to cut down on electricity consumption.

“From tomorrow, for at least two weeks, we are going to have Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays as non-working days for the public sector,” Maduro said on his weekly television program.

Drought has reduced water levels at Venezuela’s main dam and hydroelectric plant in Guri to near-critical levels. The dam provides for about two-thirds of the nation’s energy needs.

Water shortages and electricity cuts have added to the hardships of Venezuela’s 30 million people, already enduring a brutal recession, shortages of basics from milk to medicines, soaring prices, and long lines at shops.

Maduro, 53, who succeeded the late Hugo Chavez in 2013 and is facing an opposition push to remove him through a recall referendum, appealed for understanding and support.

“The Guri has virtually become a desert. With all these measures, we are going to save it,” he said, adding that the daily drop in water level had slowed to 10 centimeters from 20.

OPPOSITION DERISION

After months of unscheduled outages, the government began programmed electricity rationing this week across most of Venezuela, except the capital Caracas, prompting sporadic protests in some cities.

Maduro has also changed the clocks so there is half an hour more daylight in the evening, urged women to reduce use of appliances like hairdryers, and ordered malls to provide their own generators.

Regarding the public sector measure, the government is excluding workers in sensitive sectors such as food.

Full salaries will still be paid despite the two-day week.

Critics have derided Maduro for giving state employees days off, arguing it would hurt national productivity and was unlikely to save electricity because people would simply go home and turn on appliances there instead.

“Maduro says that ‘we in government don’t stop working for a second’. Of course. Except for Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays!” satirized Leonardo Padron, a columnist for pro-opposition El Nacional newspaper, via Twitter.

Officials said the El Nino weather phenomenon is responsible for Venezuela’s electricity woes. But critics accuse the government of inadequate investment, corruption, inefficiency and failure to diversify energy sources.

奇招！委內瑞拉缺電 公僕周休5日照領薪

委內瑞拉的社會主義政府26日下令，公務員每周僅工作兩天且可照常領薪，因為這個位在南美的石油輸出國組織（OPEC）成員國正面臨嚴重的缺電危機，當局為節約能源而推出周休五日措施。

委內瑞拉副總統伊斯杜利茲視察委國南部的古里（Guri）水庫和水力發電廠時告訴國營電視台：「公家機關周三、周四、周五不上班，基礎和必要任務除外。」意即委國公務員現在僅周一和周二上班。

這是當局最新發布的極端措施。總統馬杜洛月初已先刪減國內280萬名公務員的工作時數至每天六小時，且周五放有薪假，直至6月6日止。政府上周還宣布調整時區，將時鐘往前撥快30分鐘以便利用日光節約能源，本周也在全國八個地區實施了每日停電四小時的措施。

但這些作為讓委內瑞拉人大為不滿。委國仰賴石油輸出賺取外匯，隨著油價下滑，此際正值嚴重經濟危機，居民經常要在商店外排隊數小時等候購買日用品，但藥品、衛生紙和烹飪用油等均匱乏。

缺電怪聖嬰現象

官員將電力短缺的問題歸罪於聖嬰現象造成異常氣候。嚴重乾旱影響古里水壩的水位，而這座水壩供應委內瑞拉全國用電需求的三分之二。委國寄望未來幾周能天降甘霖，補充水庫水量。

因為周休五日是政府的決定，所以公務員就算不上班也可以領薪。部分執行重要業務的公務員被排除在外，例如食品業。但中、小學校周五也停課。

反對黨要罷免總統

批評者嘲弄馬杜洛減少公務員工作日的政策，認為在經濟衰退和能源短缺之際更形降低全國生產力，而且待在家的公務員仍會使用電器，根本無助於省電。他們說，錯都錯在政府投資不足、貪汙腐敗、效率不彰，以及能源利用未做到多元分散。

反對黨希望將馬杜洛拉下台的努力26日獲得進展，國家選舉委員會已允許他們尋求近20萬人連署，展開罷免公投程序。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/04/26/world/americas/26reuters-venezuela-workers.html

2016-04-27．聯合晚報．A6．國際焦點．編譯季晶晶