VILNIUS — Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius is not keen on a cost-saving measure some in his coalition are calling for the government to consider — a four-day week for public employees.

The government is looking to cut 10 percent from each ministry’s 2010 budget, and estimates that switching employees from a five-day week to a four-day week will cut costs 20 percent, straight from workers’ wages. A source known to Baltic Reports said that the proposal had been trialed at one of the country’s  courts.

“I do not know, if all the burden of the recession has to be laid on public sector workers‘ shoulders,” Kubilius told the press Wednesday after meeting with the other parties in the coalition. He added that it would be impossible to implement for teachers and doctors.

Ridas Jasiulionis, an adviser to the prime minister, told Baltic Reports that it was unlikely the government would attempt to pass such a measure.

“It would be so cruel, so Kubilius is just very, very cautious,” Jasiulionis said. “That proposal is not impressive.”

In addition to potentially restricting the output of work government ministries could do, it would need the approval of both business associations and labor unions under the newly-signed “National Accord” and unions are already dead-set against the idea.

“The wages in Lithuania is already really low, so if they suggest that it would be even lower, our position is against it, our confederation is against it,” Goda Neverauskaitė, a Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation spokesperson told Baltic Reports.

However, the Speaker of the Seimas Irena Degutienė says the four-day week is worth considering.

“Degutienė thinks that is an interesting idea that should be discussed with all possibilities about solving the financial and economic crisis,” Juozas Ruzys, a spokesman for Degutienė’s office, told Baltic Reports. “She cannot say that it is a good thing or a bad thing but that it could be one of the possibilities.”

Could it backfire?

Public employees make up 23 percent of the Lithuanian workforce. Another large wage decrease for such a large number of the country’s total workforce could have a negative impact on consumer demand and damage the national economy in addition to impairing the functions of government agencies.

“We need to make moves that don’t negatively impact the functions of public bodies,” Gitanas Nausėda, a senior analyst at Lithuania’s SEB Bank, told Baltic Reports. “If you introduce four days per week, the salary would be reduced as well and some of the functions would be done negatively. Unless these people found a job for one day, which is impossible, there would be problems.”

— Baltic Reports assistant editor Adam Mullett contributed to this article.