Hours of Work

Abstract

One of the earliest initiatives of the Bolsheviks when they came to power in October 1917 was to introduce regulations which limited hours of work. Four days after the Bolsheviks came to power, on 29 October (11 November) 1917, a decree introduced a universal prohibition on the employment of women in night work. In practical terms this was defined as falling between nine o’clock in the evening and five o’clock in the morning. Overtime work by women was also banned. These prohibitions were reiterated in the 1918 Labour Code, which stated that women should be excluded from employment under such conditions in any circumstances. At the same time a seven-hour shift was established for night workers, compared with eight hours for daytime shifts. The intention at this time was that the employment of women on night shifts would be reduced steadily and that it would be totally eliminated over the following three years.