Shorter working week

By Frank Enright

Overtime rates should be cut to discourage workers working longer hours, says former Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) president Julian Disney.

Professor Disney's comments follow last November's statement by the current ACOSS president, Robert Fitzgerald, that, "At least initially, someone will have to reduce their disposable incomes if job opportunities and working hours are to be shared more widely and the needed expenditure measures financed". Fitzgerald went on to advocate a jobs levy - that is, increased taxes on workers - to finance job schemes. The ACTU later endorsed a similar proposal.

Using Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that show 1.8 million people are working more than 40 hours a week, John Moorhouse, from the University of South Australia, is urging governments to force job sharing by restricting working hours to a maximum of 40 hours.

Moorhouse believes that this could create 500,000 jobs. With a reduction of hours to 37 per week, the total could rise to 800,000.

In contrast to the urging of ACOSS and the approach of the ACTU which penalises workers, the US union peak council AFL-CIO, at its October convention in San Francisco, heard calls from several national leaders for a shorter working week with no loss in pay - four days' work for five days' pay. The AFL-CIO is considering reviving the demand: "Four for five".

From GLW issue 127