The Working Week

In the nineteenth century trade unions struggled for shorter hours and meant just that. In post-war years, when low unemployment should have made it rather less difficult to press claims, campaigns for shorter hours have become disguised efforts to get more overtime pay.

In 1938 when the standard working week for most industries was 48 or 47 hours the inquiry made by the Ministry of Labour into pay and hours in manufacturing industry showed that the men were on average doing 47.7 hours.

In 1946 and 1947 the standard week was generally reduced to 44 and the hours actually worked averaged 46.6. By 1952 they were back again to the 1938 level of 47.7, and in October, 1959, averaged 48.5.

Now a new movement is bringing the standard week below 44. In the past few months agreements have been reached covering four million workers, the new hours being mostly 42, but in 1959 the numbers of workers on overtime was increasing again after an earlier fall. It remains to be seen, when the shorter hours agreements come into effect, whether the earlier experience will repeat itself and ‘shorter hours’ in fact become longer.

(Editorial, Socialist Standard, May 1960)