RICHARD
LEONARD : Four days shalt thou labour . . . RICHARD
LEONARD : Four days shalt thou labour . . . Socialism is about eradicating waste, wrote William Morris “. . . not overwork and weariness for the worker one month, and the next no work and terror of starvation, but steady work and plenty of leisure every month ......"
(‘How we live and how we might live’ 1884).
In today’s society, cursed with job insecurity, mass unemployment and a stressed out workforce, Morris’ vision of socialism is as relevant as ever.
That relevance is underscored by a land-mark policy decision at this year’s Scottish Trades Union Congress. For the first time in a major debate on full employment and economic restructuring the target of a four day working week was officially sanctioned as STUC policy.
Of course, demands for reduced working time are not new to the Trade Union Movement. The Annual May Day Celebrations were begun over a century ago as an international rallying point in the call for the reduction of working hours. And today in other parts of Europe mainstream trade unions are campaigning for big cuts in working time. The German and Italian unions have an objective of a 30-hour week by the end of the century. In Holland the objective is a 25-hour week. The demands are radical, but significantly they have picked up political support from, among others, the German SPD.
In the months ahead the Scottish Labour Movement needs to consider how the objective of a four day week can be realised here. A few ground rules need to be established.
First, any reduction in hours must be accompanied by a commitment to maintain income. If income is cut, aggregate demand is cut, the economy will be depressed, and more, not less, unemployment will be created. Secondly, working time reduction must be universally applied. If it is not, existing inequalities in the labour market will be reinforced. An elite will work shorter hours, while a majority, particularly in service industries with a high proportion of women and young workers, would work the traditional working week - or even longer. Thirdly, the approach needs some flexibility. It may be sensible for a maximum working year, rather than a maximum working week, to be introduced by agreement. Fourthly, cuts in working time need to be introduced by stages every few years. But clear targets must be set. The target of a maximum four day week or a 1,400 hour working year in Britain by the end of the century is realistic and achievable. Fifthly, moves towards the four day week need to be made immediately, including the introduction of longer holidays, sabbaticals, job sharing and the eradication of overtime. These moves must be accompanied by new investment in education and training, culture and leisure opportunities. Sixthly, work should be unisex. Men will need to take an equal responsibility for domestic and caring responsibilities. Finally, a four day week cannot be unilaterally imposed. For cuts in working time to be sustainable, full discussion in local areas, involving trade unions, community groups, local employers, and central and local government are essential.
We are already seeing massive cuts in working time, but they are unevenly and unfairly distributed. For socialists, committed to planning for equality, even liberals committed to averting social disintegration, this cannot go on.
The campaign for a four day working week is a historic opportunity to build support for the creation of a very different kind of society. There will be a concerted campaign of counter-propaganda from the business community. But if trade unions can mobilise a popular Movement behind the demand, a reluctant Labour Government, even a hostile Tory Government, will be forced to take notice. Liberation at work and from work need to be the twin demands of the Trade Union Movement as we approach the year 2000.