Palau to cut government work hours
- Admin
- 18 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Jayvee Vallejera
The government of Palau will cut its work hours from 80 to 72 hours per week starting Dec. 1, unless the legislature promptly passes a new budget before the end of November.
Palau President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. blames Palau’s legislature—the Olbiil Era Kelulau—for being “indecisive” in passing a new budget for fiscal 2026, which should have been enacted before fiscal 2025 ended on Sept. 30.
Instead, the OEK passed a stopgap measure that only authorizes the national government to continue operating at last fiscal year’s funding levels until Dec. 31.
Whipp earlier asked the OEK to meet with finance officials for an urgent talk about passing a new budget. Whipps asked the OEK to meet on Nov. 24, 25, or 26. His work-hour cuts memo was issued on Nov. 27.
Government employees typically work 80 hours a week. While
being encouraged to continue working the full 80 hours, they will only be paid for 72 hours.
The extra hours would be paid retroactively only if the OEK authorizes it in a future budget or supplemental appropriation, Whipps said.
Working more than 72 hours is optional. Whipps reassured employees that they will not be punished if they choose not to work extra hours during the temporary adjustment.
Whipps explained that the continuing authority prevented an immediate shutdown but failed to account for the 10-percent salary increases the OEK had authorized last year. That means this fiscal year’s government obligations are much higher than last year's, yet there are not enough government funds to cover them.
“Without a new budget bill, the government must manage expenditures carefully to ensure that available funds last through the end of the year,” Whipps said Thursday.
He said an assessment of the fiscal year’s projections made it clear that maintaining an 80-hour pay period for all employees is not financially sustainable under last year’s funding levels.
Cutting back on government work hours will avoid exhausting available funds and risk a complete government shutdown later in the year, he added.
In a Nov. 21 letter to Senate President Hokkons Baules, Whipps said the work-hour cuts would heavily affect employees who get paid through personnel funding.
This group includes nurses, teachers, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, aviation personnel and customs and immigration officers.
The lack of a budget is also causing delays in scholarships, audit reports and other essential functions, he added.
“We understand that this reduction is difficult for families, especially during the holiday season. It is not a decision we take lightly," Whipps said.
"However, this approach is the most responsible way to protect the government from running out of funds entirely, which would cause a far more severe disruption to public services and employee income,” he added.
Whipps reminded Baules that it has now been more than seven weeks since the OEK passed the continuing budget that averted a shutdown, but the annual appropriation is overdue.
“You told the people of Palau that you would find a solution within one month. You have failed to deliver,” he said, adding that the inaction “is causing immediate and significant harm to the country it serves.”
“Continuing budget authority is an undesirable and unsustainable situation, and the continued lack of urgency from the OEK in passing a budget is deeply concerning,” Whipps told Baules.
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