Unions are pushing for a shorter working week at next week’s economic summit, as the prime minister says there is room for bold ideas at the roundtable.

The ACTU will call for a four-day week in sectors that can support it, arguing this will allow workers to benefit from productivity gains and technological advances.

It will further argue that reducing working hours, from a standard five days a week, is key to lifting living standards.

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“Shorter working hours are good for both workers and employers,” ACTU president Michele O’Neil said.

“They deliver improved productivity and allow working people to live happier, healthier and more balanced lives.”

Workers in sectors that would not be able to support a four-day week could be given “more time off or fairer rosters”, O’Neil said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he is open to suggestions to boost productivity at the summit and the government is ready for big reform.

“I’m up for big reform and we are a big reforming government,” Albanese told ABC radio on Wednesday.

“We have a big agenda ... we’re also up for ideas and we’re up for things that can be done immediately.

“Of course, if they will improve the economy, then of course we’ll give it consideration.”

The economic roundtable will focus on lifting productivity, bringing together representatives from business, unions and civil society in Canberra on Tuesday to Thursday.

Albanese said more needed to be done to address the issue.

“We certainly need to do better on productivity, it’s been pretty flat for more than two decades now,” he said.

“It’s certainly our objective not just to do it in three years but to put in place measures that improve productivity over a long period of time.”

But the prime minister talked down reports he had told Treasurer Jim Chalmers to tone down expectations of tax reform resulting from the summit, saying the pair was in regular discussions on the economic agenda.

Chalmers, who also downplayed the reports, said the summit would be about finding new ways to lift the lagging productivity.

“We are aligned,” he told ABC radio.

“We have an ambitious agenda that we’re focused on delivering, and this economic reform roundtable is a good opportunity to shake the tree for more ideas in our economy.

“We’ve got a productivity challenge in our economy.

“We’ve got an agenda to deal with it, and we’re bringing people together to grapple with the next steps when it comes to making our economy more productive.”