Abstract
In the heat of the present debate, it is often easy to forget that there is nothing essentially new in trade union claims for shorter working hours. The question is certainly as old as industrialism itself, although it was probably less of an issue prior to the industrial revolution, when work tended to be based on domestic premises or small workshops and was rewarded more by the ‘piece’ and less by the time spent working. Over the past two hundred years or so, primarily as a result of trade union pressure or agitation, the basic working week has fallen from 90 hours (six days of 15 hours) around 1750 to the present level of just under 40.
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WORKING TIME IN CONTEXT
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3. S. and B. Webb, The History of Trade Unionism, rev. ed.(London: Longman Green, 1920).
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14. Alastair Evans, What Next at Work? (London: Institute of Personnel Management, 1979).
15. European Trade Union Institute, Reduction of Working Hours in Western Europe – Part One: The Present Situation (Brussels: ETUI, 1979).
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© 1985 Alastair Evans and Stephen Palmer
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Evans, A., Palmer, S. (1985). Working Time in Context. In: Negotiating Shorter Working Hours. Industrial Relations in Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-07884-4_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-07884-4_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-38858-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-07884-4
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