Six-hour workday

Six-hour workday

At the beginning of the century it was average
the weekly working time 60 hours per person and the number
annual working hours around 2800. In 1919 eight hours were introduced
working day, in 1970 the decision was made about our current 40 hours
working week and in 1978 we got five weeks holiday. It was
not yesterday that today's working time standards were introduced.

In 1990, the annual working time was just under 1,500 hours. The
average weekly working hours, including part-time, shorter
working hours for certain groups and other special solutions were then
about 38 hours a week.

The statutory pension, the five-day week,
vacation, parental and study leave are decisions as in high
degree reduced working time, at the same time as productivity
constantly increased.

Despite these major changes, the norm has
the eight-hour day etched itself. The social pressure to
working eight hours a day is big if not ''excuses'' i
form of children, studies or lack of work exists.

It is often claimed that a reduction in working hours automatically
would lead to reduced productivity. If you study
the effects from the four largest reductions in working hours
in modern times -- 1848 (the ten-hour day is introduced), 1919
(eight-hour workday) 1938 (two-week holiday) and
1956--73 (staged reduction of working hours from 48 to 40
hour week) -- so it is clear how easy this is
arguments are taken. These reforms, on the contrary, accelerated it
economic activity. (Source: Stig Sandström, ''The new
the working time investigation'')

The working time issue and unemployment

The question of working hours is intimately connected with
unemployment. The work of the last years of government for
reduced sickness absence (the introduction of grace days)
together with severe dieting of both private and
the public sector has greatly reduced the total working hours in
Sweden. The withdrawal of the previously planned
the extension of the holiday by a holiday week has
also affected.

At the same time, the number of jobs has been concentrated on fewer and fewer
which had to offset the need for new labor with
overtime. We see the clearest example today in
the export industry, but in basically all industries sets
today there is a great work pressure on the employees. During 1993
year's first three quarters corresponded to the total
the overtime withdrawal between 60,000 and 70,000 full-time jobs.
(Source: SSR magazine, 1/94)

Although unemployment naturally also has others
reasons other than purely party politics, there is no doubt
that the government's line on the working time issue was realized at one
extremely poorly chosen time and thus contributed to
reinforce the rise in unemployment. (Source: Bertil
Holmlund's report The unemployment crisis --
cyclical phenomenon or system failure?)

Working hours within the EU

In most EC countries, it is agreed or regulated by law
working hours shorter than our 40 hours. EFS, European
union organization, has admittedly not arrived
to his goal of a 35-hour work week, but you have
got a bit on the way.

However, not all countries regulate their working hours by law. IN
England and Denmark eg govern only contracts. Varying
retirement age, length of vacation and the varying level
on parental leave etc. also makes it difficult to
make direct comparisons between countries. We can state that
the European agreements for working hours often look good on
the paper. If we take into account the employment rate of women,
right to parental leave etc., the comparison becomes more
Sweden's advantage.

Shorter working hours provide work for everyone

In today's society, there are large untapped resources
human labor -- among immigrants and refugees,
disabled and certain early and old-age pensioners.
Many home workers, part-time unemployed, students and
the openly unemployed also want to enter working life.

The choice in the matter of working hours is between individuals
solutions -- for the strong -- and general solutions -- like
cares for everyone. The future also makes demands on jobs.
The muscle power and the process-oriented work are on their way
out. The software, imagination and creativity become more important. Here
fits the six-hour day. It can become the trigger
factor that forces companies to rethink. To organize
production in a different way.

The working hours committee -- a failed project

When the working hours committee's majority, with Mona Sahlin in
the tip, presented his work in June 1989 so each shot
shortening of daily working hours in the future.

The Working Hours Committee argued that a
reduction of working hours (with full or partial
salary compensation) leads to increased costs for companies,
municipalities and other employers and that this in turn
leads to lower competitiveness for the companies and worse
finances for the municipalities. This would lead to higher
unemployment. How Long Is One Business Day?

Based on today's situation, we can state that
the committee's assumptions about the economy were completely unrealistic.

The committee's report was based on a working time forecast
from Statistics Sweden, which meant that the total was gainfully employed
working time (employees and self-employed) in Sweden would
increase steadily until the turn of the century -- from approx. 6.25 billion
hours in 1985, to 6.53 billion hours in 1990. In 2000,
the figure to be 6.88 billion hours. The committee believed that
the demand for labor would be so high that the problem
even in the early 90s there would be a labor shortage! First
when we reached the 1995 volume (6.74 billion hours) could
the committee considers starting a reduction in working hours.

This is how they wrote:

In the next few years, as promised
the government statement, the holiday to be extended to six
weeks and the parental insurance according to the Riksdag resolution that
extended to 18 months. Our calculations show that these
reforms will take significant resources but
that the economic consequences of them are not
unaffordable. (SOU 1989:53, main report, page 224)

You have to combine a working time reform with
tax policy and economic measures that do both
employers and employees more eager to short
working hours and hire more.

The economic model that the Working Time Committee
built on based on the idea that the labor supply is controlled
of ''utility maximizing households''. Effects of working hours on
the distribution of working time and income between
individuals in a household it was impossible to study in it
model, and the gender equality aspect was therefore completely dropped
outside.

Replace the underpaid part-time work with
six-hour day in 1990
86 percent of all women aged 20 were employed
to age 64, which is more than a 60 percent increase since 60
the number. The women have thus increased their "productivity" and
thus contributed to the increase in welfare during these years.

But this revolution has not meant anything major
change in the location or length of working hours. On the contrary
has the woman's entry into the labor market meant that she
have been given double burdens -- both the responsibility for production
and for children and households.

Behind the statistics on women's high rate of employment
economic and structural differences are also hidden
between genders. The mothers of young children can already be said to have
introduced the six-hour day on his own and paid for it with
sharp wage cuts.

The fathers of toddlers, by comparison, belong to that group
which have the absolute longest working hours (42 hours or
more) while the majority of women with small children work
part-time (around 30 hours). Today, our children have longer
working days than us adults. Should children get the chance to socialize
with their parents -- and not least with their fathers --
a reduction in daily working hours is needed.

Regardless of union affiliation, women work more often at
inconvenient times than the men and low-paid women
relatively more often work at inconvenient hours than women
with a higher salary. The extent of part-time work for women is increasing
and moving towards increasingly longer part-times.

The average gainfully employed time per year i
the ages between 16 and 64 in Sweden are at the level of 1200
hours. But gainfully work about two hours more per
working day than women. Women spend just over three in return
hours of housework per day, to be compared with the men's one
hours.

Purely mathematically, it is thus possible to within the framework
for six hours of profitable work a day -- and two hours
homework! -- for everyone to increase the total gainfully employed time.
The six-hour day is thus basically a matter of
distribution of working time, not about a shortening.

A shorter working day for everyone is an important fair and
equality requirements. A shorter working day with
wage compensation for the low-paid would decrease
the pay gap between women and men and increase
equality within the family.

The Left Party proposes that JämO be instructed to -- i
the work on wage differences between women and men -- also
investigate the effects of a shortened working day on wage differences
between the sexes, and on equality in working life. In a
other motion, the Left Party allocates resources to this.

Shorter working days require limited overtime

A reduction in working hours must be combined with a
severe limitation of overtime. The Left Party believes
because overtime should be limited by law.

A first step -- seven-hour day in 1997

The Left Party has long worked for a transition to
six hour day. We have done it out of gender equality policy
reasons -- to get a more even balance between men's and
women's professional work and family responsibilities -- and we have done
that for general welfare reasons -- to make life more bearable.
The purpose has also been to some extent
labor market policy: by redistributing working time
more people should be able to be employed without prices and production too
the sake changes.

In today's economic situation, with sky-high unemployment, is
it is important to review the working time issue, regardless of where you stand
in the question. Proposals for measures should be inserted into a long-term plan
perspective where a six-hour day is seen in combination with
from tax policy, family and education policy. The
is our responsibility as politicians to use all available means
available to adapt Swedish labor market policy to a
future labor market. The working time weapon is one such
average.

Sure -- you can't replace the struggle for new jobs
with the fight for the six-hour working day, but the work should
conducted in parallel. In a time of high unemployment, it is important
that everyone takes joint responsibility for employment.

Much suggests that there is a growing desire among
population and trade union movement to settle clean
economic improvements towards shorter working hours. The insight
that all welfare cannot be measured in money begins to grow
stronger. Surveys (among others by TCO) show that the desire to
shortening the working day, even with lower pay, was great about it
would lead to more jobs. The women were most positive.

In a first step, the Left Party can imagine one
reduction of working hours to a seven-hour day no later than 1997. On
term, on the other side of the turn of the century, a general is introduced
six hour day.

Some professions in society require services where it is gathered
the daily working time exceeds six hours. Of course these should
groups are not forced into an inflexible six-hour day. Within
many jobs and for some people it is more practical
with a different arrangement of working hours. Essential ice
however, that normal working hours shall be a six-hour working day
or 30 hour work week. The employee shall have the right to
a shortening of working hours through reduced daily working hours.

Start trial operations

In Denmark, eg who lived for a long time with high unemployment,
do the cleaning workers want to introduce the so-called
the scrap demand model (according to the slogan ''jobs for more -- time
to more'') and let four men share the work of three men. With a
pot on an unemployment insurance and three salaries each gets
a certain reduction in salary, but the jobs are enough for others
page for more.

The Left Party proposes that a support fund be established for
employers who reduce working hours, and/or create new ones
jobs with a six-hour day. The contributions to
employers who introduce reduced working hours must be given
only to those who really hire new ones
compensation for lost working hours for those who already
gainfully employed.

The support must be given in the form that Gösta Rehn called for
''marginal employment subsidies''. The state should, via
AMS and own budget, cover the additional costs for companies
and municipalities that increase their employment or that
replaces dismissal, notice and layoffs by giving it
staff you already have a daily working time reduction.

The government should give directives to AMS and negotiate with
the municipalities about a package of measures in this direction.

The Left Party proposes that this trial operation
with shorter working days already beginning in the next budget year.
For this, the Left Party allocates SEK 1 billion. In first
groups with heavy jobs should be prioritized. During
the trial period should also trial job sharing
between the unemployed and employees can be allowed.

Request

With reference to the stated home state

1. that the Riksdag requests from the government that JämO receives i
assignment to investigate the effects of a shortened working day on
the wage differences between the sexes according to what is in the motion
stated,

2. that the Riksdag makes its opinion known to the government
what was stated in the motion about limiting overtime at
introduction of shorter working days,

3. that the Riksdag requests from the government a plan for
reduction of the normal working day to seven hours in 1997 and
six hours in the longer term,

4. that the Riksdag requests the government for a support fund
set up for employers who introduce shorter working hours
as stated in the motion,

5. that the Riksdag requests directives from the government to AMS i
in accordance with what was stated in the motion,

6. that the Riksdag makes its opinion known to the government
what was stated in the motion about trial activities with shorter
working day and division of labour,

7. that the Riksdag to trial activities with shorter
working day for the budget year 1994/95 allocates SEK 1,000,000,000
over the Ministry of Labor's budget according to what i
the motion was stated.