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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(79)188 final
Brussels ,7thMay1979
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TOTHE COUNCIL
ONWORK-SHARING
V • ' '
£
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COM (79)188 final

SUMMARY
Pag .
THEMANDATE 1
I.PRESENT POSITION 2
A.Theoutlook foreconomic growth andemployment 2
B.Trends inMember States and atCommunity level 3
.Measures adopted inMember States 3
.Trends inMember countries :social partners
andgovernments 4
.Trends atCommunity level 5
II.THE ROLE OFCOMMUNITY ACTION 6
.Community action tobetaken 9
III .THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OFMEASURES TOREDUCE HOURS
OFWORK 12

COMMUNICATION 3P8QM 5K1S COMMISSION ffOTHB COPNOII
ONV03K~SHAKING
THE MANDATE
1. The question ofareduction inworking time and abetter
distribution ofwork has already held the attention ofthe
Community authorities for some time .Onthebasis ofconclusions
drawn bytheChairman oftheTripartite Conference on27June 1977 »
Governments andboth sides ofindustry jointly examined the
objectives and effects ofaredistribution ofwork ontwo occasions
in1978 .(•)
Since then thepressure for areduction inworking time
has increased inseveral Member States *For its part ,the
Commission has actively tried toestablish the basis for a
Community approach .The discussion ofthis isone ofthemain
points ontheagenda ofthe next Council ofEmployment and Social
Affairs Ministers *Atthe same time ,theEuropean Council of
the 12-13 March asked theCommission topresent aCommunication
onthe social and economic implications ofacoordinated re­
organisation ofworking time .
The present Communication isaninterim document which is
intended toprepare the discussion ofthenext Council ofMinisters
ofEmployment and Social Affairs ,and ofthenext Council ofMinisters
ofEconomic and Financial Affairs .Onthebasis ofthese discussions ,
theCommission will prepare adocument for the European Council .
2. The present Communication comprises three parts :
-the first reports onthepresent position and thetrends
which have been noted ;
-the second sets out the role ofaCommunity intervention ;
-the third presents some interim conclusions onthe
economic implications .
Two working documents oftheCommission are annexed .
The first sets outguide-lines concerning future work ,and
thesecond gives anoverall view ontheactions envisaged
and their implementation atnational level *
(•) Standing Committee onEmployment -of21March 1978 ,and
Tripartite Conference of9November 1978 .

-2-
I.PRESENT POSITION
3. Reduction inhours worked -inits various forms -is
amajor component ofsocial progress .Inits different ways
(reduction inhours per day ,extension ofpaid leave ,re­
arrangement ofworking life ),itisboth anexpression of
workers' aspirations and part ofthe result ofimprovements
inproductivity arising from technical andeconomic progress .
Inthe present situation ,with widespread under -
utilization ofhuman resources and continuously increasing
productivity ,reduction inworking hours canalso beconsidered
foritspossible contribution toemployment .
Since the subject has already been discussed inthe last
year bytheStanding Committee onEmployment and theTripartite
Conference ,theCommission will confine itself firstly to
reviewing theprincipal economic questions involved and
secondly topresenting the trends which are emerging inthe
Member Countries .
A.The outlook for economic growth and employment
k. Theoutlook forgrowth andemployment intheCommunity
over thenext fewyears isconditioned toalarge extent by
the rapid expansion ofthepopulation ofworking age ,the rising
participation rate among women and the obstacles torestoring
adequate andlasting growth .The potential supply oflabour in
theCommunity will increase bybetween 500000and800000
workers ayear until 1985 *Thenetfigures correspond tothe
arrival ofabout amillion young workers inthe labour market
between 1980 and1985 .Thepopulation trend should slow down
inthesecond half ofthe80s ,anditshould subsequently be
reversed .However ,these general figures cover different national
trends .
5. With economic growth ofabout 3%to3-5%ayear over
thenext five years ,population trends would mean that the
present 5*5%unemployment rate would rise until themiddle
ofthe80s .Agrowth rate ofbetween *f.5%and5%ayear is
required ifthe employment situation istoimprove toany extent
over thenext fewyears .
Itisperfectly possible toachieve higher growth rates
r.darapid improvement intheemployment situation .Thepresent
^ypeofslow growth isdueneither tothesaturation ofpotential
demand nortoanyfundamental exhaustion oftechnical progress :
itisduetoanumber ofnacro-eeonooio ,structural and social
orpolitical obstacles *
./

7. Avaet concerted effort isrequired todeal with these
problems .But such aneffort isnot easy tomake -Social protection ,
although indispensable ,should not beallowed toincrease structural
rigidity ;therestoration ofadequate growth should not bebased
oninflation ,waste ofresources ,environmental deterioration and
soon-which would only exacerbate future problems .Inthe
circumstances arealistic attitude involves recognising that
whatever efforts are made torestore aconsiderably higher level
ofactivity ,the results ofthese efforts alone are unlikely
toinclude full employment .
Specific accompanying measures ofsocial and employment
policy are required ,particularly measures toreduce hours ofwork .
8. Theabove points correspond tothebasic elements ofthe
general medium-term strategy put forward bytheCommission at
the last Tripartite Conference :
-lasting ,more rapid andnon-inflationary growth ;
-amore rapidly adaptable economy ;
-accompanying measures ofsocial and employment policy .
B.Trends inMember States and atCommunity level
9. Anumber ofactions have already been considered orimplemented
atnational level .Following thebrief given bytheStanding
Committee onEmployment ,theCommission drew upareport onthis
subject -with thecollaboration ofMember Countries -(seeAnnex II).
The principal conclusions ofthis report are asfollows .
Measures adopted inMember States
10. Onthelegal plane ,there have notbeen anygreat changes
inlegislation onduration ofwork .The only exception isBelgium ,
which recently adopted measures reducing the"legal duration of
work to *f0hours .
Inthis field ,there hasbeen more progress oncollective
agreements .Inseveral Member States ,the social partners have
agreed either toreduce weekly working hours to38oreven
36hours ,ortoextend annual leave tosixweeks .Concern about
employment levels seems tohave played asignificant role in
theconclusion ofsome ofthese agreements .

-4-
11. Steps have been taken inseveral countries toreduce
overtime working ,but most ofthem have not yet shown results *
Reduction inthelength ofworking life isone ofthe
principal measures adopted sofar .Several countries have
lowered the age oflegal retirement for the older unemployed ,
forcertain branches ofactivity orforcertain categories
oflabour .
Some countries are announcing steps toencourage part-
time work ,but these have not yetbeen fully implemented .
Furthermore ,the introduction ofanadditional shift ,orshorter
working hours for shift workers isbeing actively discussed .
New procedures areproposed inparticular for the steel industry
orother sectors indifficulty .
Trends inMember Countries tSocial Partners and Governments
12. Generally speaking ,trade union action has been concerned
with thegradual establishment ofa35-hour week .The vigour
ofsuch action ,moreover ,varies considerably between countries
and sectors .Itisfrequently accompanied byademand tolimit
overtime .Furthermore ,several national organizations have
come out infavour oflowering the retirement age .
13. Employers' organizations are more infavour ofmeasures
onpart-time and ,occasionally ,ontemporary work .Their
attitude toareduction induration ofwork varies considerably
from onecountry toanother .There iscertainly acommon desire
toprevent cost increases and theloss ofcompetitive edge .
This hasledcertain national organizations toshow thegreatest
reticence ;but others haves proposed amoderate and gradual
reduction inthe annual duration ofwork and are not opposed to
areasonable limitation onovertime .
14. Most Governments areaware oftheproposals concerning
thereduction insystematic overtime and differentiated action
onretirement .They attach importance tojoint negotiations on
theduration ofwork .Some ofthem have been open inregard to
general action topromote work-sharing .The importance of
competitivity and fears ofdistortion atthe economic and
social level tend tounderline the need for concrete concerted
action atCommunity level .
./

15. The striking fact which emerges from this analysis is
the wide range ofresults that can beexpected from areduction
intheduration ofwork itself ,once current negotiations have
been concluded .This issoboth for the scale and nature of-
themeasures envisaged .Itseems togobeyond thenecessary
taking into account ofdifferent national preferences ;it
raises problems ofcoherence ,both asregards overall economic
convergence and its social consequences and atthelevel of
sectoral developments .Thus itraises thequestion ofeffective
coordination atCommunity level .
Trends atCommunity level
16. Trends atnational level have their counterpart at
Community level .
The European Trade Union Confederation stated that a
significant reduction inthe duration ofwork should have an
important place inanoverall strategy ,and demanded that this
reduction beoftheorder of10%inthenext four years .
The Union ofIndustries ofthe European Community
expressed doubt astohow effective these measures would be
inimproving the employment situation and emphasized that
hasty conclusions should not bedrawn before the effects of
different measures onfirms production costs had been examined
with care .
During Community level discussions ,Governments
favoured defining guidelines ,while drawing attention to
the need tomaintain the internal and external competitivity
oftheCommunity ;they also observed that themeasures
proposed would notnecessarily have amechanical effect on
employment and that they should berecognised asbeing
accompanying measures .
During these discussions ,itwas theconstant concern
ofGovernments toallow theSocial Partners toplay their
full role inthepreparation and implementation ofany
work-sharing measures .

•»6•
II.THE ROLE OFCOMMUNITY ACTION
17. Ifawork-sharing policy istomake asignificant
contribution toCommunity plans forlasting improvement in
the employment situation ,itmust take account ofanumber
ofprior conditions .
From this standpoint ,work-sharing policy must :
-beintegrated with harmonization intheimprovement of
living andworking conditions andprevent thegrowth of
disparities between countries ,sectors and occupations ;
-ensure that theincreased costs resulting from ^this
reduction ofworking time are compatible overall with
theavailable margins resulting from productivity gains ,
and that the division ofthese costs between theparties
concerned operates insuch away astoavoid anincrease
inpublic expenditure overtime ;onthis last point ,it
will beobserved that animmediate increase inthese costs
could berecovered subsequently byreducing the cost of
unemployment over aperiod oftime orthrough greater
employability oftheunemployed ;
-ensure that its costs donot jeopardize the revival of
firms' profitability byintroducing distortions of
competition within theCommunity andweakening the
competitivity ofCommunity industry throughout theworld ;
-take account ofpossible reversibility soastoallow
forpossible later changes inthe labour market situation ;
-beachieved byconstant ,spontaneous dialogue ,co-operation
andnegotiation between all theparties concerned .
The Commission defined these conditions atthe
meetings ofthe Standing Employment Committee and the
Tripartite Conference which dealt with this subject ,and
they were approved byall theGovernments and theSocial
Partners asessential tocontinued Community action .

18. The Commission therefore regards asimportant and necessary
Community action toguide thepressure and trends towards reduction
inworking time ,which exist inallMember States *into goals which
contribute totheconvergence ofeconomic policies .Tothis end ,
itisdesirable that such goals ,while taking account ofnational
and sectoral characteristics ,should beashomogeneous aspossible
andmutually compatible .
19« Itisgeneral practice inall Community countries toleave
theprovisions laying down duration ofwork toautonomous negotiation
between the two sides ofindustry .Such apractice does not ,
however ,inhibit initiatives atCommunity level .
Further theCommission wishes toemphasize inthis respect
that itconsiders itessential that direct contacts between the
Social Partners develop toagreater extent than inthepast at
Community level ,and that itisprepared todoall itcan inthis
direction .
Tothe extent that negotiations take place between theSocial
Partners atthis level ,thequestion israised astowhether certain
responsibilities could not usefully betaken onatCommunity level .
This development should naturally respect the full autonomy of
the partners .
The Commission considers all the same that itisnecessary
toconsider the role oftheCommunity institutions and ofthe
Member States who cannot simply confine themselves towaiting ,
but must each carry out fully their proper responsibilities in
this field ,including atCommunity level .
20. With this inmind ,theCommission wonders whether the role
oftheCommunity institutions should not betoprovidear> tial
impetus tothe steps tobetaken onwork-sharing .Atthe came
time ,could not aminimum number ofrules onCommunity procedure
bedefined firstly inorder toencourage and assist both sides
ofindustry insetting uptheir dialogue and inimplementing
their eventual agreements and ,secondly toprovide the appropriate
legal instruments setting out thepositions that Community
institutions could adopt asaresult oftheir dialogue with
the Social Partners ?

«8■
21. Tothis end ,theCommission would like tosee the
interested parties considering the following twopossibilities :
-European outline agreements :these could stem either
from direct action bythepartners orfrom the initiative
oftheCommunity institutions requesting them todevelop
dialogue and direct negotiations intheappropriate areas .
Ineither case ,theCommunity institutions could provide
the necessary technical assistance and also beprepared
totake steps tohelp inreaching thenecessary compromises ,
whilst respecting the autonomy ofthepartners ;
-theadoption ofoutline directives :such directives would
beadopted bytheCouncil ontheproposal oftheCommission
inaccordance with the usual procedures .They would
establish theposition oftheCommunity institutions
resulting from dialogue with the Social Partners :
further the directive would belimited tofixing the
common aim soastoensure cohesiveness ,and would leave
ittonational rules orcollective agreements tolay down
the detailed arrangements .
22. The Commission questions whether those forms ofintervention
which are particularly aimed atensuring that negotiations
between theSocial Partners atCommunity level run smoothly ,
andwhich correspond tothe (virtually general )practice in
theMember States ,could not permit the gradual setting-up of
aEuropean system ofindustrial relations which isdesirable
inthecontext ofagreater convergence ineconomic performance .
23. During themeeting ofthe Standing Committee onEmployment
last March ,aswell asinthe various contacts atdifferent
levels between Community institutions and the Social Partners ,
all theparties present accepted thethesis oftheCommission
following which ,whatever themeans adopted ,"itisnecessary
toensure the fair distribution among theparties concerned
ofthecosts resulting from theimplementation ofwork-sharing
measures ".

2k. Without wishing toadopt aposition today onthewhole
oftheproblem ,theCommission considers nevertheless that
with theprospect ofslow growth now facing theCommunity ,
the need torestore profitability offirms and tomaintain
world-wide competitivity oftheCommunity industry ,an
effective work-sharing policy requires the allocation of
part ofthe product ofgrowth tothe reduction ofhours worked
rather than towage increases .Workers will bemore disposed
toaccept such apolicy ifitissituated inacontext of
social progress and the democratisation ofworking life .
Community action tobetaken
25. There iscertainly awide range ofpossible actions
that can betaken onwork-sharing .Asaresult ofdiscussions
between the various Community authorities ,inparticular
oftheEuropean Council meeting on12and13March 1978 ,
and onthebasis ofits contacts with the Social Partners ,
theCommission considers that Community intervention would be
justified inthe following areas :
-annual volume ofwork
-overtime
-shift work
-flexible retirement and early retirement
-right totraining
-part-time work
-temporary work
26. Actions inany ofthese fields must take into account
impact onemployment ,intrinsic merit from thepoint ofview of
working conditions and relative cost .Particularly asregards
their impact onemployment ,reference should bemade tothe
observations above concerning thedifficulty ofestablishing
a.universal hierarchy .Further qualitative effects apart ,there
areconsiderable differences intheways inwhich each measure
can affect employment .Regarding this single ,partial aspect of
direct effects onemployment ,there isagraded transition through
the different types ofmeasures s
-early retirement byremoving people from thelabour market liberat
posts that can -atany rate inpart -befilled byother people ;
-other measures designed toreduce theworking hours ofindividuals
with probable immediate effect onrecruitment (limitation of
overtime ,changes inshift-work );
-finally forothers ,theeffect oneaployaent Issubject tofurther
decisions being taken byfirms (reduction inannual volume ofwork
through changes inannual leave ordaily duration ofwork ).

-10-
Measures onpart-time work and temporary work are
different .Designed toincrease labour flexibility byamending
legal protection conditions ,they apparently have abeneficial
effect interms ofemployment twhile involving the risk of
discrimination and social regression .Discussion ofthem
supposes atrade-off between these twoelements .
27. Training measures require separate treatment .First ,
those measures presented inthis Communication are there for
aspecific purpose .IntheCommission 'sopinion vocational
trai^i npandcontinuous education should betreated aspriority
activities sothat men and women should have better control of
their destinies intheperiod ofrapid and difficult changes
nowbeing felt intheCommunity .But the development ofthese
activities can also considerably affect the balance ofemployment .
This iswhy theCommission considers itadvisable ,without losing
sight ofthemain aim ,toinclude them initswork-sharing
actions .
Nor should itbeforgotten that all thework-sharing
measures envisaged involve re-adjustment byfirms and bylabour :
they involve astrengthening ofthe general training efforts
which should bekept inmind .Moreover ,itisnecessary
tore-inforce other labour market policies inorder tomeet
the qualitative mis-match between the supply and demand for
labour which exists ingeographical terms ,intraining and in
working conditions .(*)
28. Themeasures should notbeconsidered independently .
Some ofthem affect orcomplement each other ;others are
inter-linked .These close links canbeillustrated bytwo
examples .The employment effect ofareduction inannual
working time isliable tobegreatly weakened ifthere isnot
atthe same time alimitation onovertime worked .Furthermore ,
thetransition from work toretirement can take place gradually
byprogressive reduction inhours worked byolder employees ,
acombination which isrelevant both toretirement age and
part-time work .Even ifpossible Community actions arepresented
separately ,such interrelations should not beoverlooked .
./.
(*) SeeCommunication from theCommission tothe
Standing Committee onEmployment onmismatch
inthe labour market .

-11-
29• The development ofnational measures indifferent areas
requires aCommunity framework inorder topreserve coherence ,
both from thepoint ofview ofoverall economic developments
and competitivity ,and from thepoint ofview ofavoiding
overloading .The objective ofsuch aframework would betofix
the basic orientations onwhich thenegotiations should take
place atnational level insuch away astoensure abalance
between the different measures taken atnational level .The
Community framework could beestablished either bydirect
negotiations between Social Partners orbyjoint conclusions
from Tripartite meetings .
30. Inthis light ,theCommission asks the following
questions about initiatives ofaframework sort which could
beenvisaged atCommunity level -:
-The ANNUAL DURATION OFWORK -could itbethe subject
ofoutline agreements between the Social Partners ?
-Restrictions onSYSTEMATIC OVERTIME -could itbe
the subject ofadirective proposed bytheCommission ?
Regarding the other questions ,theCommission considers
that the following initiatives are useful :
-SHIFT -WORK will bedealt with bytheCommission within
itsproposal totheCouncil onsteel policy .This will
bedrafted inclose cooperation with theMember States .
-FLEXIBLE RETIREMENT will bethe subject ofa
Communication from the Commission tothe various
Community bodies concerned .
-The DEVELOPMENT OFTRAINING AND ALTERNANCE TRAINING
will bethe subject ofaCommission proposal inaform
tobedetermined atalater date .
-TheEXTENSION OFVOLUNTARY PART-TIME WORK and theproblem
ofTEMPORARY WORK should bediscussed atCommunity level
onthebasis ofstudies and suggestions tobepresented
bytheCommission .
3i• TheCommission isnot atthis stage submitting detailed
proposals oneach ofthese measures totheCouncil ,but is
presenting ,inanAnnex tothis Communication ,its first thoughts
oneach measure .
/

-12-
III .THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OFMEAStJRES TOREDUCE HOURS OFWORK
32.The actual number ofhours worked onaverage byeach worker
isnowregularly falling inalltheMember States byabout 0.5%
to1%ayear ,although thetrend started earlier insome States
than inothers ,and the practical arrangements vary .
Inthepast ,the reduction inhours ofwork was asteady
andgradual process carried outagainst abackground ofhealthy
growth ,large productivity gains and afairly tight labour supply .
Itwas part ofthegeneral improvement inworking conditions ,
andusually reflected thewage-earners' choice between free time
and theincreased real wages made possible byproductivity
gains .
33•Employment policy measures toreduce hours ofwork in
present circumstances would beofanentirely different nature
both intype andinscope (theESCsuggests a10%reduction
over thenext four years ).Instead ofresulting from economic
development ,the reduction inhours ofwork would beadeliberate
step towards improving employment .Itistherefore difficult ,
andperhaps irrelevant ,torefer topast experience inassessing
theprobable effects ofsuch anew policy forsharing out
available hours ofwork .
3*+. Itisnot aneasy task toanalyse these multiple ,complex
and often contradictory effects ,and they have not yet been
studied very fully .The analysis must bebased ondefinitions
ofthe specific ways ofreducing hours ofwork ,and ofthe
time-horizon considered .Moreover ,the general effects of
shorter working hours onthe trend ofemployment depend oh
the economic situation ,onthe institutional and organizational
flexibility offirms andbranches ,onthe regional sectoral
and vocational distribution ofworkers and ontheir mobility ,
onthe solidarity ofthe two sides ofindustry and soon.
Although itisimpossible topredict exactly the effects of
agiven measure toreduce hours ofwork ,itisnevertheless
possible todescribe thegeneral conditions required forthe
results ofthemeasure tobeasfavourable aspossible *

-13
35•First ofall ,all other things being equal ,such
measures result inlover production ,since the capacity -
utilization rate drops ,and inhigher depreciation charges *
This effect onproduction ,however ,isnot proportional ;
forlabour productivity increases .Some empirical studies
show that a1%reduction inhours ofwork islargely
offset byimproved hourly productivity oflabour .With an
unchanged production level ,therefore only half the labour
time given upbythe employed population canbepassed on
tonewly-recruited workers .The relation isprobably not
linear ,and does not apply inall cases .Moreover ,the
effect will vary from branch ,tobranch and from firm
tofirm .
36.This istheprincipal reason whynumerical calculations
redistributing thenumber ofhours oflabour required for
aspecific production among alarge *number ofworkers (i.e.
allowing fewer hours ofwork perperson )cannot bevalid .
The volume oflabour isnot afixed quantity £hat can be
divided into asmany parts aswechoose .
37-The number ofnew jobs made available byagiven
reduction inhours ofwork cannot becalculated according
tosome general rule .Itwill usually have tobeassessed
separately for each branch ,oreven for each firm .However ,
aset ofbasic factors can beidentified .
38.Areduction inactual hours worked canlead tothe
creation ofnew jobs only ifthenecessary staff tofill
thenew jobs isavailable .Otherwise the reduction will lead
toaloss ofproduction ,often inimportant branches ofjobs .
Theneed forovertime ispartly explained bytheexistence
ofpockets oflabour shortage inageneral situation ofunder­
employment .The remedy isincreased labour mobility ,supported
byactive employment policy measures (aids tomobility and
training )•

39•Insome cases ,shorter hours ofwork may bewelcomed
simply because thereduction will speed upadeliberate process
ofcutting down onthelabour force .This istrue -insome
industrial branches suffering from chronic over-capacity ,and
insome service activities affected ,forexample ,bythe
development ofdata-processing (banks ,insurance companies ).
What ismore ,such areduction may well beanincentive to
invest inimproving productivity and thus ,inthe short term ,
tosaving onlabour rather than creating new jobs .However ,it
may also help toprevent redundancy indeclining industries .
kO.Theconstraints towhich firms aresubject toavarying
extent should also beborne inmind .Some arrangements for
reducing hours ofwork ,particularly ifthey areapplied tosmall
firms ofwork-shops ,may well lead toanincrease inundeclared
work ,which isalready aconsiderable problem insome areas .
Ingeneral ,itisdifficult toshorten theworking week insmall
firms .Itiseasier infirms that are not very specialized ,
and that have sufficiently wide profit margins .
41.However ,areduction inworking hours can result ina
proportional increase instaff ,allowing forproductivity gains ,
inbranches where theproduction process iocontinuous .Such a
reduction enables available equipment tobeused more rationally ,
forexample ,theeffectiveness ofthe reduction will depend to
alarge extent onhow thehours lost are made up.Any extension
ofshift-work may bedifficult because itcomes upagainst
resistance inthename ofworking conditions .
k2.Whether ornot the reduction inhours ofwork isa
successful employment policy instrument will depend toalarge
extent onhow the shortfall inwages ismade up.
Ifitismade upbythe firm orthe State ,theamount
bywhich the compensation exceeds productivity gains will fuel
inflation ,and ,asrecent Dutch studies have shown ,may even
damage production and employment .The consequence for firms
isincreased unit costs ofproduction ;anincrease incosts
associated with re-organization and anincrease infinancial
burdens due totherequirement forextra investment ifthe
lost production ismade uporifnew jobs must becreated .
may beadded totheincrease inthewage bill *

-15-
1+3.Ifthewages lost byworkers because ofareduction
inhours are made upatleast partially bythe authorities ,
orifthe State isrequired tobear increased social costs
because ofcertain measures toreduce hours ofwork (e.g.
theextension ofthebase forsocial security contributions ),
the result may benew and considerably increased national
budgetary expenditure ontransfer payments .
This may beinconsistent with the aim ofrestricting
the size ofthebudget relative toGNP ;itmay require
changes inthe structure ofpublic expenditure ,particularly
expenditure ontransfer payments ,atthe expense ofother
social protection measures .Itshould beborne inmind ,
however ,that savings could bemade onunemployment benefits
and sickness benefits *
41*. The effects ofmeasures toreduce hours ofwork may be
favourable when thewages lost are made uponly inproportion
toproductivity gains ,or,inother words ,when the real
per capita wage increase islower than itwould have been
ifavailable hours ofwork had notbeen spread outmore thinly .
45.The margin formanoeuvre isvery narrow ?itwould be
unrealistic torefuse all compensations forlost wages ,but
wage-bills must not beincreased .Here again ,the exact
distribution can bedecided only within aparticular branch
orfirm .Itcannot beimposed asaprecise quantitative size ,
orbytheapplication ofsome general formula for sharing out
theburden .However ,for social reasons and inparticular out
ofsolidarity ,itshould beagreed atleast that compensation
forwages lost must beinversely related tothelevel of
remuneration .
h6.Measures toredistribute available hours ofwork will
not solve everything ;atbest ,they are only acontribution
tothe effort tosolve long and short-term employment problems .
The dangers and theunwelcome secondary effects ofexceepi ^- --
energetic measures should beborne permanently inmind .
However ,the effects ofemployment will bemagnified tothe
extent that :
./

-16-
-hours ofwork arereduced aspart ofaCommunity
growth and employment strategy ;
-thereductions allow fortherequirements ofcloser
convergence between the economic developments inthe
various Member States ,i.e. donot affect any
country 'scompetitive capacity ;
-wage losses are offset only partially ,and the reduction
inhours isconsidered asanintegral part ofordinary
wage negotiations between the two sides ofindustry ;
-thereductions are flexibly adapted toeach branch ,
professional group ,age group ,sex -and even to
each firm -,avoiding uniform solutions that would
increase therigidity oftheproduction process ;
-the specific arrangements forthe reductions are
consistent with social aims such asimproving unpleasant
working conditions ,protecting low incomes from the
burden ofthemeasures ,adapting time-tables and rythms
ofwork tothe specific needs ofthe various job-seekers .
47.Themeasures forredistributing work that have been
applied ,and those that arebeing considered intheMember
States ,should bestudied atCommunity level ,both because
they are important and because theCommunity must doitsbest
toensure that therelative competitivity oftheMember States
isnot distorted ,and that convergence isnot endangered by
avariety ofill-coordinated measures .Considering all the
wide differences between the Member Countries ,closer convergence
does not require that identical arrangements should beadopted
everywhere forredistributing work .Itdoes ,however ,require
that thematter should beconsidered incommon ,sothat
developments inthe different countries will beassimilar as
possible ,eventually within aCommunity framework .
*+8.Thecost forfirms and forsociety ofanyaction to
redistribute work isobviously thebasis fordeciding onits
economic and social implications .However ,other aspects ,much
more difficult toexpress quantitativity ,must also betaken
into account .For example ,ifworking conditions areimproved
and ifjob-seekers atadisadvantage find iteasier toobtain
work because ofareduction inhours ofwork ,such areduction
can contribute toahealthier social consensus and tostronger
solidarity .These points are farfrom negligible inthe
Community 'spresent economic difficulties .
<4-
Encl .:Annex I
Annex II

ANNEX 1
MORK-SHARING
6UIDELINES FOR FUTURE WORK
(working paper )

CONTENTS
Annualdurationofwork
Restrictions onregularovertime
Shiftwork
Flexibleretirementandearlyretirement
Developmentoftraining
Extensionofvoluntarypart-timework
Theproblemoftemporarywork
Annex:4tables

GUIDELINES FOR FUTURE WORK
Inthis paper will befound theguidelines within which
the Commission intends todevelop itswork onthethemes defined
in630/soastodecide ontheappropriate initiatives tobe
taken atCommunity level .
>Annual duration ofwork
The concept ofthe annual duration orannual volune of
work per worker isadecisive reference point intheCommunity
action for aconcerted reduction inhours worked .Its development
canbeaffected byvarious specific actions (extension ofpaid
If-ave orreduction ofactual hours worked aday),towhich laws
oragreements refer with greater frequency .From the standpoint
ofworksharing ,and also from that ofthe charges involved ,itis
important toadopt the annual duration ofwork asareference point .
Down the years thebasic pattern has been agradual reduction in
theactual annual duration ofwork (which currently ranges from
1,600 to2,000 hours ,depending onthecountry ).Thedisparity
between actual duration and agreed duration isexplained by
overtime .
The reduction inthe annual duration ofwork -10% inthe next
four years -istheprincipal request oftheEuropean Trade Union
Conf ^deration .Itisatthe root -ofanumber ofactions carried
out inthis direction atsectoral orinter-occupational levels
-inrespect ofweekly working hours orpaid leave ,oracombination
ofthe two .
Such measures should beaimed atimproving working conditions ,while
:-••■venting dismissals orencouraging recruitment .Atthe same time ,
)owver ,they must have anequal impact intheCommunity countries and
provent current trends from raising the cost toanintolerable level ,
resulting inharmful disparities .

2
Ti ,■"!Commission finds that theproblem isnow posed atCommu­
nity level and that theCommunity isfrom this viewpoint engaged
inaprocess which ,inthenext fewyears ,will result inmeasures
inthe various fields relative tothe annual volume ofwork .It
therefore considers that itwould beadvisable forCommunity action
todevelop inthis field ,through themedium ofoutline agreements
ntCommunity level between social partners .
Perfrictions onref^ular overtime
The use ofovertime fulfills the need for flexibility in
undertakings which must beable torespond rapidly tovariations in
demand .The Commission ,however ,feels that itisimportant to
restrict regular recourse toovertime .
The Commission also considers that arestriction ofthis
nature isaprerequisite for any other measure aimed atreducing the
duration ofwork .Inaddition toavariation inproduction ,productivity
orthenumber ofworkers ,recourse toovertime isonemethod bywhich
anundertaking can react toany reduction inthe duration ofwork ,
fixed either bylaw orbycollective agreement .
Thus ,arestriction onthis course ofaction itself constitutes
ipart ofthemeasures onworksharing and should have acomplementary
effect .Itshould make itpossible toprevent thepotential effects
onemployment ofaconcerted reduction inthe annual duration of
work being reduced tonothing through theuse ofovertime .Areduction
ofthis type isalso likely toreduce thehours actually worked
byeach person ,which can result inthe need torecruit additional
labour .
Ithasbeen noted that even during therecession ,anumber of
undertakings ,both public andprivate ,had considerable recourse
tvjovertime .This ispartly explained bythe fact that overtime
':•>attractive toanundertaking :onthe onehand ,social charges
increase proportionately less than thebasic wages ;ontheother
h:\nd ,despite thepayment ofovertime premiums ,the cost ofthe
latter islower than thecost£*recruitment ,training andpossibly
trioreorganisation ofwork following therecruitment ofadditional
labour .
/•

For their part ,the workers are encouraged toaccept this
bythe financial benefits that they receive for overtime .The
importance ofovertime tocertain categories oflow-wage earners
insome countries is,moreover ,aproblem that must bekept
inmind when defining future action .
The proportion ofovertime worked inthe total
volume ofhours represents anaverage of3-5% inMember
Countries .According toestimates based ontheCommunity Labour
Force Survey ,about aquarter ofthe labour force could
have worked overtime in1977 ;this would beabout half the number
compared with 1973 »but itappears tobeonthe increase with the
start ofthe current revival (seeattached Table ).
These general data donot show the high concentration of
overtime worked incertain sectors (which varies from country to
country ),and occupational categories .Forpersons who
worked overtime theproportion ofovertime inthe total
volume ofhours worked frequently exceeds 10$ ,often reaching
15or20% .
On this basis ,andtaking account of
theconclusions oftheEuropean Council meeting held on12and 13
Krtrch 1979 ,Community action could take the form ofaCommunity
instrument aimed atrestricting the use ofovertime ,inaccordance
with the following principles :
-the practice ofovertime would bemaintained ,but itwould be
limited ;
-nmaximum number ofhours ofovertime would beauthorised per
head and per year ,depending onthehours ofwork ;thenumber
ofauthorised hours ofovertime should beproportionately less ,
the longer theregular hours worked ;
-overtime worked inexcess ofthe authorised maximum would be
compensated inthe form ofleave which would have tobetaken
within aspecified time ;
-the measures oflimitation should beaimed atall sectors and
activities ,although exceptions should bemade forspecific cases
-thoCommunity directive should refer tonational legislation
orcollective agreements which would put into practise the
principle 'adopted atCommunity level indifferent ways .

Attention should also bedrawn totheproblem which has already
been mentioned oftherelationship between overtime and the ceiling
forsocial security contributions .Theadvisability of&remedying
theresulting distortions merits examination .
Shiftwork
Aconsiderable number ofworkers appears tobeemployed
onshiftwork .According tothelabour force sample survey carried
out in1975 ithepercentage ofemployees doing shiftwork varies
between 15and 2($ *ofthetotal employees intheMember States .
The number ofCommunity workers affected byshiftwork isestimated
at20million .Thepercentage ofworkers onshiftwork isparticularly
high insectors such asminingiiron and steel ,textiles andpaper .
Furthermore ,shiftwork has gradually increased inrecent
years ,particularly in the tertiary sector ;In most Member States
public sector workers make upbetween kOand50# ofthetotal
number ofshiftworkers ;forwomen this proportion rises tobetween
GOandSo% .Inthetransport nndcommunications sector ,thepro­
portion ofshiftwork hasalways been relatively high ,principally because^gf
growth ofthe new data processing technology ,shiftwork has also
spread toother fields inthe tertiary sector .
The Commission wishes tostress the rather paradoxical situa­
tion inwhich itisplaced byproposing toincrease thenumber of
shifts byreducing the length ofeach shift .
Onthe onehand ,the increase inthe number ofshifts would
make itpossible tocreate acertain number ofjobs and would
therefore involve agreater number ofworkers .Onthe other hand ,
shiftwork ,inall its aspects ,isnot necessarily compatible with
the improvement ofworking conditions .Thus itisonly byreducing
thehours worked per shift ,thereby increasing the number of
shifts ,that itispossible toreconcile employment requirements
and theimprovement ofliving andworking conditions .This step
isofparticular importance asrecourse toshiftwork seems likely
todevelop inthe future .

TheCommission considers itdifficult toapproach the
probT emattheindustrial inter-occupational levels ,asthecharac­
teristics ofshiftwork vary from sector tosector according to
thebranch ofindustry (2shifts ,3shifts ,k1/2shifts ,semi­
continuous work ).
Asafirst step ,theCommission proposes tointroduce an
additional shift inthe iron and steel industry ,infirms where
work organisation persists .This will bedone under itsprogramme
on"Social Asnects intheIron andSteel Industry ".
Flexible retirement and early retirement
The retirement ageproblem has hitherto been considered
atCommunity level more interms oftheimmediate requirements
ofworksharing (byintroducing early retirement )than interms
ofmore permanent solutions tothe needs ofpersons nearing
retirement age .Positive results from this measure have been
obtrinod mainly inBelgium and very recently inDenmark .Thus
current policy tends tofavour awidespread but temporary lowering
ofretirement age ,particularly incertain crisis sectors .
Early and voluntary retirement ofolder workers affects
employment more directly than other worksharing measures .The
departure ofolder workers starts aprocess ofjobrotation which
improves theprospects ofyounger workers atthe same time
asoffering "freed "jobs totheunemployed .
Without going into detail ontheproblems ofearly retire­
ment andwhile acknowledging that this measure isinevitable
inspecific crisis situations inorder tofacilitate restructuring ,
theCommission draws attention tothe need tokeep thevoluntary
aspect ofall measures concerning access toretirement .Compulsory
and sudden retirement often poses social andmedical problems ,
particularly ifithas notbeen sufficiently prepared .

The Commission considers itnecessary toexamine alternatives
tothe current retirement policy -Analternative policy should
aim tomodify pension systems byintroducing twopossibilities which
would enable individuals either tochoose their age ofretirement
within given limits ortowork fewer hours inthelast years of
their working lives .
Such apolicy would contribute toabetter distribution
ofwork through part-time work inthelast years ofemployment
and early voluntary retirement ,without constraints and without
exceptions .Furthermore ,preference should begiven toflexible
rules which enable employment inthe long-term toadapt tothe
evolution ofsociety .
Some first steps have been taken inthis direction .
Flexible retirement age ismore current inGerman legislation ,while
thepossibility ofearly retirement without loss ofrights ispro­
vided for inother legislation inspecific conditions .Theprinciple
ofagradual transition from full-time employment tonone has
recently been adopted with success inSwedish legislation and in
certain sectoral collective agreements inGermany (breweries ,tobacco
industry ).
There areanumber ofproblems (legal ,financial ,technical )
involved with theimplementation ofthese guidelines ,atthe level
ofnational legislation .
TheCommission proposes tosubmit its studies and suggestions
onnil these problems for discussion atCommunity level .
Development oftraining ;
Thequestion ofaccess totraining foryoung persons and
adults has aspecial place inthe general measures advocated by
theCommission .The development ofcontinuous education must
primarily meet theneeds ofpersonal fulfillment .

Inthis context ,measures designed tomeet the training
nneds ofworkers canalso help curb the rise in the supply of
labour .The economic situation inthe next four years will be
favourable tosuch measures ,under certains conditions ,intwo
ccprrate fields :development oftraining leave ,andpromotion
ofactive transition between school andworking life .
Tliere isaclear connection between therecent European
Council 'srequest ontne development ofalternance training and
tms subject .Indeed ,theprime task istoimprove thetraining -
employment relationship and thepreparation ofyoung persons
forworking life ;however ,itcould also help reduce the time
devoted towork bythe categories ofyoung persons inquestion ,
inasmuch asitwould mean that some ofthem would gofrom full-
time work toasuitable combination oftraining andwork .The
development oftheoretical training would need tobecombined with
practical training based onwork experience ,thus meeting the
needs ofboth young persons and industry .
The form and nature ofthe action tobetaken atCommunity
level must beconsidered indetail ,inthelight ofrecent
national experiences .
IntheCommission 'sopinion ,atCommunity level aninitiative
onalternance training could bebased onthe following principles :
-establishment oftraining programmes meeting theneeds of
young persons forskills and firms' need ofgreater adaptability
totheproduction process ;
-establishment ofconcerted action procedures inrespect of
programmes ,access totraining ,establishment ofincentives to
encourage forms ofalternance ,both for the young and for
employers ;
-recognition ofalternance asaviable alternative tofull
time training .
Asfar asconcerns the larger question ofextending training
Leave foradults ,foreseeable labour market developments (including
increased female participation )wilt ,over thenext fewyears ,bring
into play aredistribution ofwork between those already inemployment ,
andthose seeking employment ;this will have consequences torthe
development ofnon-professional activities .Alongside theflexible
retirement andincreased Leisure arrangements resulting from thereduction
inworking time ,theextension ofeducation andtraining opportunities
foradults isamajor element inanoverall strategy toincrease the
range ofalternatives topaid employment
Permanent education andadult training cansave both economic
andsocial ends ,responding asmuch tothefuture qualification needs
oftheeconomy astoindividual aspirations andthecollective needs
of ademocratic society .

Thus theCommunity should take into account ,inplanning its
long-term strategy ,thedevelopment ofadult training leave ,with
particular emphasis onthefollowing points :
-theprinciple ofmore flexibly based alternance between work and
permanent education should berecognised foradults ;
-aspecial effort isrequired foradults whohave left school without
acquiring afull range ofbasic skills andwhoasaresult have only
-limited scope toparticipate effectively inpermanent education
programmes .
Extension ofvoluntary ,part-time work
i
Intheusual sense ,part-time work isaregular and
voluntary activity (inrelation topart-time unemployment )
paid according toalower number ofhours over ashorter
working day than normal .Some Member States have set aceiling
tothe number ofhours worked ,which varies according tothe requirements
social legislation .Part-time work must notbeconfused with other
types ofreduced working hours such astemporary work ,flexible
hours and ,inparticular ,partial unemployment due toeconomic
difficulties .
TheEconomic and Social Committee produced adetailed Opinion on
this problem (1).TheCommission agrees with certain important
elements ofthe Opinion .
This form ofwork organization isareality andanimportant
factor inthe labour market ;theworkers concerned must nolonger
boregarded asbelonging toasubordinate andmarginal category ;
they must begranted proportionately the same rights asfull-time
workers .
Part-time employment constitutes approximately 10% ofthe
total working population .The female part-time work force represents
25%' (between b0%inDenmark andtheUnited Kingdom and10&inIreland ).
Account should also betaken ofthe fact that the demand forpart-
time labour greatly exceed supply .
Nevertheless ,attention should bepaid tothe fact that
although this form ofworksharing provides greater flexibility
for firms and forcertain categories ofworker intheorganisation
ofwork ,itcanalso give rise todiscrimination ,forexample
against women ,interms ofwages andqualifications ,and can
contribute toaspeeding-up ofproduction rates which are already
very high .Therelative backwardness ofsocial protection for
part-time workers inrelation tothat for full-time workers must
beremedied .Inaddition ,part-time workers run therisk of
being relegated toinferior jobs orlosing allchances ofa
career .
(1)ESCOpinion ,of1stJune 1978 .

Atthe same time ,aCommunity approach tothe extension of
voluntary part-time work should bedeveloped .Intheopinion
oftheCommission ,this should bebased onthe following principles :
-part-time work should bevoluntary ;great care should betaken
toavoid restricting orchanging women 'sactivities into part-
time activities ;
-part-time workers should have proportionally the same social rights
and obligations asfull-time workers ;
-part-time work must fulfill therequirements ofseveral labour
market groups andmust notbelimited tojobs with less favourable
wages orinferior social positions ;
-incentives should beapplicable toall the forms ofnon-discrimi -
natory part-time work ,without being limited tohalf-time work
alone .Other forms ofdaily ,weekly ,monthly and even yearly
work should bedeveloped tomeet the needs ofcertain groups of
workers .The gradual transition from working life tofull
retirement could beparticularly advantageous for older workers ;
this form ofpart-time work should bestudied inthe context of
new flexible retirement schemes ;
-thepublic sector could provide impetus inthis field ;the
desirability ofdeveloping part-time work there deserves study .
The Problem ofTemporary Work
Getting control ofcertain specific details ofemployment
contracts (temporary work ,fixed duration contract ,etc.)isin
itself animportant aspect ofpolicy for the improvement ofworking '
conditions .Italso has close links with worksharing measures .The
use made oftemporary work bycertain firms often appears tobea
way ofavoiding therequirements laid down bylaw orbycollective
bargaining governing theprotection ofemployment .Inthis respect
measures aimed atreducing working hours andredistributing work
could beweakened ifadditional labour requirements are satisfied bytemp
rary workers rather than newrecruits .This iswhy action inrespect
oftemporary work isanessential accompaniment tothe overall
strategy .

-10-
Whileitisacknowledged thattheseproblemsarenotconfinedonly
totemporaryworkbutincludeothervulnerable formsofemployment such
asfixeddurationandseasonalcontracts,theCommissionfeelsthatpriority
shouldbegiventothequestionofsocialprotectionforpersonsrecruited
throughtemporaryemployment agenciesandthepreventionofinfringements
thatresultfrominadequatecontrolofsuchagencies.
Temporaryemployment agencieshaveexperienced increasingactivity
since1960,agrowththatwasnotimpededbythedeterioration ofthelabour
market.Accordingtotheonlyprofessional sourcesavailableinthisfield,
theagenciesemployed300000persons.Theiractivityishighlyconcentrated
incertaintertiaryandindustrial occupations andoftentendstoskimthetop
ofthelabourmarket.Thereisamarkedtrendtowardstheinternationalization
ofsuchagenciesthroughthedevelopment ofmultinational agenciesandoftheir
hiring-outactivities beyondthefrontiersoftheircountriesofestablish­
ment.
Facedwiththisdevelopment,themajorityofMemberStateseitheradopted
laws,regulations oradministrative provisionsrestricting orprohibiting the
activitiesoftemporaryemployment agencies.Thesemeasuresinfactcomprise
twotypesofaction:thecontroloffirms*activities andthesocialpro­
tectionoftemporaryemployees.
Communityactiontosupporttheseeffortswouldbejustified.Inthe
opinionoftheCommissionitshouldbebasedonthefollowingprinciples :
-itdoesnotseemadvisablesimplytoprohibittheactivitiesofthese
agencieswhichplayapartinthenecessaryflexibility ofthelabour
market;
-ontheotherhand,thepublicemployment agenciesorservicesshouldbeplaced
onthesamefootinyasspecialized privateagenciesinregardtotheplacing
oftemporaryworkers;
-theactivitiesoftemporaryemployment agenciesshouldbecontrolled;
-controlshouldtaketheformofpriorauthorization,whichshouldproba­blybelimitedtocertainsectors,e.g.,"services";
lastly,theactivitiesoftheseagenciesshould,byprocedurestobe
determined,bemorecloselylinkedwithpublicemploymentservices,inparticularasregardsthesocialsecuritybenefitstobegrantedtoworkers
employedbysuchagencies.

ACTUALHOURSWORKED
COmUNAUTE :SALARIES/GEMEINSCHAFT :ARBEITNEHHER /CCnriUNITT:EHPLOTEES
1211
1315
313
83220130
'/>"rv"2/90
ToJOO0Totalnumberof
employéesint
1973
1975
1977
J1J-1
I
!
«L'30/
80/
r
u
-Γ
; 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1–:–i
15.20253a3540424548515S+
19242934394144415055•10/
GO/
50/
40/
30/
20/
:cz
0/
o
Soycc:Labourforcesamplesurvey

KORMALWESKLlTORKIKQHOURSAHNUALPAH)LEAVE
(workingdays)
legal"byagreement
(industrialworker)legal"byagreement
(industrialworker^
1965 1977 1965 1977|1965Iι
19771965,1977
Belgium 145 A545 401824.18
124
Denmark I(nolegislation)48 40182418 24
FederalRepublic Ii (i960)I
20-/27 ofGermany 43 48 !40/43
i4015/181815/18
France •40 40 182424 24
Ireland 43•4842.5/444010-/12»15*/18*i1215*713
Italy 484844/46.SI40I.
112 !
I122C-/24
Luxembourg 48 .4042/46408/18228/1822
Netherlands 4348 454010«/12*15*/18*15*2>/2?
UnitedKingdomt I
(nolegislation)
I40/4240I
»12/18'5/ZJ
*daysofwqrk
Source:Commission servioe••

THEORETICAL ANNUAL WORKING HOURS -1977
I»
. 3I I
.DA• •
,0E• t
,rI • • I
,IT• t
■LUXι I
.NL» t
- UK
Calculated ,on '
the basis of
(average )legal
provisions •
,2043i
«
t
,1852 ,2256 ,1920 .2304 ,2336 .1832 ,2304t
»
,1864
«
Based ,on(usual )
collective
agreements »
1816 1852ι
1784t
1856 1904*
1840I
I
1832 1864••
1864
Calculated asfollows I365 calendar days -52Sundays
-52Saturdays (5-day week )
•xlegal holidays –ydays ofpaid leave
Source :Calculations done byCommission service

PERSON'S(in-thousands)WORKHJOOVER£2ECHJRS
•8
■.DA
■.0E
iF•IR
J•IT
> .*LUX
_i•VI.ι
.1 1_u<
.1005I ■ * ••
1973 ,100579280 .5.006.38,1958,6,626
i t t •
1975 .368.2*5.*5257055-,193,4.251.17.954,5333
t t • •
1977,266.2*0.4116t6701,186,3.581.12.564,5328
PERSONS(inthousands)WORKINGOVER42HOURSB7SEX
STATUSASAT1977
tB.0AI
,£>E.fβ
,IR.IT.LUX«
,NLβ
,UK
Norkera
oen83751574 1042249
β7*175β34Α1
employées
aeri•139•112«1696•1.997•51•718•3•328•1387
vorkers
woaerii
15«
18■
i
247
α9
'688
m9
I
22
Λ9
2
m*
t
15
m192
m
expioyees
voaen .33.35■
,600.846.19.1S5.1.*5,307
t
Sourc *:Labour force samplesurvey
•S

ANNEX II
WORK-SHARING
MEASURES AND TRENDS
INTHE MEMBER STATES
(work-document oftheCommission' sServices )

PARTI
MEASURES TAKENINMEMBERSTATES

BELGIUM
The working week
The lav;of20July 1978 fixed ,thestandard working week at40hours ,
aprogressive reduction inworking time having already "been achieved
following thenational collective agreement of6April 1973 -The1978
legislation also provided forreduction oftheworking week toless than
40hours ,byroyal decree ,inenterprises orbranches ofactivity ,
characterised byunhealthy ,dangerous orheavy work .Collective agree­
ments have already reduced bystandard working week toless than
40hours inthe oil and steel industries and inmuch ofthe services
sector and10-15 %oftheworkforce intheprivate sector enjoy aless
than 40-hour week .
Overtime
/private
Virtually allemployees inthe'sector are subject torestrictions imposed
under thelawof16March 197**I*1general ,overtime must beeither noti­
fied to,orauthorised bythe labour inspectorate andeven inthese cases ,
there maybeanabsolute limit totheamount ofovertime which maybe
authorised ,forexample ,2hours perday ,10hours perweek ,130hours per
year inthe case ofovertime tocope with extraordinary increases inwork­
loads .Inother cases ,forexample ,work with perishable materials ,compen­
satory rests areimposed .Further limitations maybeimposed under collective
agreements orbyroyal decree inthecase ofcertain arduous work .Theroyal
decree of6January 1977 »making binding acollective agreement concluded
intheNational Labour Council on29November 197^»required certain overtime ,
tobenotified totheMinistry ofEmployment andLabour ,with thereasons
forthe overtime and thearrangements proposed .
Annui 1holidays
Certain changes inthenational agreement concluded intheNational Labour
Council (10April 1975 assubsequently modified ),establishing theregime
governing annual holidays ,favour theextension ofannual holidays ,for
example ,bytheextension ofdouble paytopart ofthefourth week ofannual
holidays .Many sectoral agreements have provided foradditional day'sleave
related toseniority andseveral have provided forreduced standard weekly
working hours intheform ofextra annual leave .Inthepublic service ,the
collective agreement of1977 introduced additional annual leave of1-5days
forcivil servants ofover 60years ofage .

kr,o ofretirement
i
Theageofretirement isnormally 65formen ,60forwomen .Thelawof j'
30March 197^oneconomic recovery authorised thepayment ofanindemnity j
(including anelement equivalent tounemployment benefit ,andfinanced from !
theunemployment fund ),andasupplement (equal tohalf thedifference ■
between netremuneration andunemployment benefit ,andfinanced from social j
security funds )tom4nretiring from 60andwomen retiring from 55years of |
1
age ,oncondition oftheir replacement byyoung unemployed persons ofunder
30.BytheendofJanuary 1979 »itwasestimated that 22,657 young persons j
hadfound employment under these arrangements . !
1
The lav/of22December 1977 on "the1977-78 budget established asystem of :
early retirement pensions forelderly unemployed persons .Pull pension entitle­
ment isgranted after 1year ofunemployment formenover 60andwomen over ;
55.BytheendofJanuary 1979 ,13,756persons hadapplied forbenefit |
under thescheme .These arrangements extend totemporary orestablished j
civil servants byvirtue ofarecent royal decree . J
!
Short-time work I
{
\
Thelawonemployment contracts allows forthepossibility ofputting manual j
workers ontemporary work .This provision hasbeen used tointroduce work-
sharing incertain enterprises ,asanalternative toredundancies ,buttrade >.
unions areopposed tofurther generalisation ofthepractice . j
!
t
Theroyal decree of31August 197$ introduced atemporary provision allowing j
half-days onwhich anemployee didnotwork tobecombined andtocount as
full days forthepurposes ofunemployment benefit .Theprovision applies
only toworkers affected bytherestructuring orclosure ofundertakings and
whoaccept part-time work toavoid unemployment . ;
Terroorarv work
Thelawof28June 197° established aprovisional framework ofrules gover­
ning thestatus oftemporary workers ,setupanappropriate body forthe
negotiation ofcollective agreements onworking conditions andreinforced
therole oftheMinistry ofEmployment andLabour incontrolling theacti­
vities ofprivate agences .These arrangements areaccompanied bylimitations
onretired persons taking upwork ,which have been extended topersons retiring
from thepublic service (from 1976 )andfurther reduced (from 1977)*

-3-
Interruption ofcareers
Certain enterprises inthe services sector allow thepossibility of
interruption ofcareers byyoung mothers foruptotwoyears .
Aroyal decree of26May1975 established this right forcivil servants .
DEÎKARK
Working hours areusually determined mcollective agreements andthe
principles both ofa40hour week anda4-«eek annual holiday arewell-
established .Legislation ,such asthe law of1July 1977 on "theworking
environment ,has only alimited bearing onthearrangements forworking
time ,themain legal constraint onadult workers being theguaranteed rest
period of11hours within anyperiod of24hours .
InNovember 1977 "theMinistry ofLabour appointed acommittee consisting
ofrepresentatives ofthepublic sector ,thetrade unions (including civil
servants andgraduates organizations )andtheemployers (including the
agricultural sector andthemunicipalities )with directions topropose
ascheme "aimed atsharing theexisting volume ofwork more effectively
soastogive more people jobs andthus improve theagestructure ofthe
labour force ".
Apre ofretireraent
Given thelikely work-sharing implications ofearly retirement inacountry
where thenormal pensionable age (70)isthehighest intheCommunity ,
itisnatural that theCommittee 'sterms ofreference should have given
afirst priority toconsideration ofearly retirement .
InAutumn 19J& ,onthebasis ofthis Committee 'sreport ,Parliament
passed theEarly Retirement Lawwhich came into force on1January 1979 *
Asfrom 1January 1979 anyone who :'
(a)is60years old *•
(b)hascontributed toanunemployment fund recognized
bytheState forfive years during thepast tenyears ,
and
(c)hasreceived unemployment benefit ,
maystop working andretire early .

-4- »
Forthefirsttwoandahalfyearstheearlyretirementpensionis
equivalenttothefullunemployment benefit,thefollowingtwoyears
80$andsubsequently 60$uptothenormalpensionage.Asinthe
caseofunemployment benefits,theschemeisfinancedbytheemployer's
andemployee'scontributions .
InJanuary1979around79»000personsinthe60–66agegroupsatiesfied
theconditionsforearlyretirementanditwasexpectedthataround
15,000-17,000wouldtakeadvantageofthenewschemeduringthe
firstyear.However,onemonthafterthelawcameintoforce30,000
peoplehadalreadyappliedforearlyretirement.
FEDERALGERMAS "REPUBLIC
Theworkingweek
Therehasbeencontinuingprogressinreducingworkingtimethrough
sectoralcollectiveagreementsand,whilethelaw(of1938)stillprovides
forastandardworkingdayof8hoursandaworkingweekof6days.
92ioofemployeesenjoyastandardworkingweekof40hoursorless.
Overtime
Whileovertimeislimitedbylawtonotmorethan2hoursaday,within
a10-hourday,overamaximumof30daysa,year,thereisinfactconsi­
derablescopeforovertime,giventhedifferencebetweenthestatutory
workingweekof48hoursandthestandardworkingweekof40hours
establishedbycollectiveagreements.Overtime(notnecessarilypaid),for
employeesoftheFederalGovernmentislimitedto5hourspermonthaaad
compensatory restsgivenincertaincases.
•Annualholidays
Annualholidaysaverage30.7daysreckoning6daystotheweekandonly
10$ofworkershavenowlessthan4weeks'paidannualholiday.Recent
collectiveagreementsinthesteelandmetallurgical industries maybeTherehasbeencontinuingprogressinreducingworkingtime
sectoralcollectiveagreementsand,whilethelaw(of1938)
forastandardworkingdayof8hoursandaworkingweekof
92ioofemployeesenjoyastandardworkingweekof40hours
£>

-5-
significantasmodelsforthefuture,withacombination oflimited
payincreaseandadditionalholidays(effectively 6weeksforall
employeesinsteelproductionby1982andinmetallurgy "by1983)
concededinresponsetotheoriginaldemandfora35-hourweek.
Theseagreementsalsoprovideforadditionalpaidfreeshifts
(4in1979andafurther2in1980)forallcontinuousshift-workers
(60/oofthelabourforcaintheseindustries),withspecialprovi­
sionsforolderworkers.Suchagreements,whileprimarilyintendedto
achieveacontinuingimprovementinworkingconditions ,consistent
withtheretirements ofproductivity ,will,itishoped,havesome
work-sharing effect,atleastinthesenseofavoidingredundancies .
Areofretirement
Legislation hasbeenpassedreducingtheageofretirementfor
severelyhandicapped workersfrom62to61aSfrom1January1979
andfrom61to60from1January I98O .Specialregulations havebeen
appliedtominingsincethebeginningof1979•
Interruptionofcareers
Civilservantsandjudges,maleorfemale,canhavetheirworking
timereducedto50$1overamaximumperiodof12years,providingthe
medicalservicecancertifyaneedforabsenceongroundsoffamily
responsibilities .
FRATCE
Thevrorkingweek
Whilethestandardworkingweekisnormallyof40hoursunderthe
variouscollectiveagreements ,themaximum "legalworkingweekisstill
48hours(averagedovera4-weekperiod)
Underrecentlegislation ,theabsolutemaximumhourswhichcanbe
legallyworked,beforeaveragingoveraperiod,havebeenreducedfrom
52to50.Hoursof"equivalence"(forthepurposeofassimilatinghours
ofactualphysicalpresenceincertainjobstohoursofwork)havebeen
reducedbyonehourunderadecreeof12December1978*

Overtime
Despite certain legal restrictions -mandatory consultation with workers'
representatives ,minima hourly premiums ,mandatory requirement of
authorisation bythelabour inspectorate inmany cases -theworking
ofovertime waswidespread ,with anestimated average working week of
41.5 hours formanual workers (January 1978 )and40foestimated tobe
working anaverage ofmore than 42hours aweek .Thelawof16July 1976
imposed afurther disincentive byproviding anentitlement topaid
compensatory rests forworkers working more than a44-hour week inall
firms employing more than 10wage earners .Theentitlment ,which is
equivalent to20$ofovertime worked wasextended toworkers working
more than a43-hour week from 1July 1977 »toworkers working more than
a42-hour week from 1July 1978 -Penalties forbreach ofcompensatory
rest provisions have recently been doubled .
Shiftwork
Adecree of3June 1977 imposed aninterruption ofatleast 24hours
inenterprises orparts ofenterprises within most industrial sectors ,
starting operations after 1July 1977 andusing continuous shift
systems .Exemptions canbegranted bythedepartmental ,director of
labour forvarious reasons ,including those oftechnical necessity .
Working twosuccessive shifts isgenerally prohibited under the 1977
decree .
Earlv retirement
There isnolegal ,compulsory ageofretirement ,though 65isnormal
formen .Thenormal expectation ,subject tosufficient insurance contri­
butions istohave apension equal to50fooftheaverage earnings over
one'stenbest years ,plus asupplement of20$ofsalary .
Retirement has ,however ,normally been possible after 60ongrounds
ofunfitness forvork .The concept ofunfitness forwork hasbeen
redefined inlegislation of1971 tocover those whose capacity for
work hasbeen reduced by50%and94»800 persons retired early in
consequence over theperiod 1972-1976 .Alawof21November 1973 made
similar provision forveterans andformer prisoners ofwar ofwhom
187#000benefited from thenewarrangements during 1974-1977 *

Subsequentdevelopments haveextendedtheprincipleofearlyretire­
mentwithfullpensionto
-(-a)workersover60with10years'membershipofaninsurancescheme,
whowouldotherwisehe•redundant(nationalinter-tradeagreement
of27March1972)
-(b)workersover56(over54ifcontinuousshiftworkers),inthe
steelindustry,whowouldbemaderedundant,asaresultof
restructuring (agreementwith"PoredOuvriere"ofJune1977)
-(c)certaininsuredworkersover60,whoseworkhasinvolveda
highdegreeof/overprevious5-15years(e.g.continuousor
semi-continuous shiftwork,exposuretoheatandbadweather)
ormothersofthreechildren(lawof30December1975)
-(d)womenover60(63andoverduringatransitionalperiodup
totheendof1978),havingbeeninsuredfor37years(including
2yearsperchildformothersoffamilies)(lawof12July1977)
-(e)extensionofagreementofT[March1972(see(a))toallworkers
retiringover60(nationalintertradeagreementof13.6.1977,
validuntii31*3.1979)•
Thenumberofbeneficiaries undertheseprovisionsasofMay1978
was78,000underthe1972agreement,62,600underthe1977.agreement
(22,900followingredundancy,39,700followingretirement).Ingeneral,
arrangements (a)-(e)forearlyretirementpension(at70$salary)
axefinancedfromunemploymentinsurancefunds(UTJEDIC),withthe
Statecontributing .
Part-tlineworlc
Certainprovisionsofthelav/of27December1973ontheimprovement
ofworkingconditionsmightbesaidtofavourtheextensionofpart-
timework,nowsubjecttocertainguaranteestoemployees(forexample,
ecpiivalentrightstosenioritywithfull-timeemployees)andto
employers(refundofadditionalsocialsecuritycostsattributableto
thehiringofpart-timeratherthanfull-timeworkers).Thelav;of
19June1970openedupfurtheropportunities forpart-timeworkin
thepublicservice,a3-yearperiodbeingpossibleonpart-timefor

mothersofyoungchildren,personsinpoorhealthandpersons
approachingretirement.AnenquiryofMarch1977showedatotal
of8.2/oofthelabourforceinpart-timework,thegreatmajority
(70$)intheprivatesector.
Terraorary'..-ork
Followingthegrantingofalegalbasistotemporaryworkunder
thelawof3January1972,normallyforperiodsnotexceeding
threemonths,therehasbeenarapidgrowthinthenumbersof
temporaryv/orkers(140,000in197611*1oftheworkforceaccording
toagovernmentstatisticalenquiryinApril1977)•Underthe1972
lav,temporaryworkmustbeanexclusiveactivity,workersare
employeesofanadhocbody,the"Enterprises deTravailTemporaire?,
withits2,300agencies,ratherthanofthe"client"enterpriseand
arenormallyrecruitedonlytomeetcertainspecificrequirements ,
suchas,forexample,replacementforabsenteesandforpersons
goingonannualholidayandoccasionalincreasesinworkloads.
InJanuary1979,anewlawstrengthenedcontrolbythelabourinspectorateandintroducedapremiumforprecariousness ofemployment.
Education andtraining
Thelawof17July1978
–(a)providedarighttouptoayears*trainingleaveforemployees,
havingspentatleasttwoyearsinthe^rpresentemploymentand
nothavinganyrecentlyacquiredqualifications ,thenumberof
traineessimultaneously absentinanyenterprisebeinglimited
to2
–(b)definedtheconditionsunderwhichworkersmaybeentitledto
educational ,asdistinctfromtrainingleaveandextendedthe
benefitstoiworkersunder20,adecreeof21March197$subse­
quentlyfixingthemaximumnumberofemployeesperenterprise
havingarighttotakeeducational leaveduringtheyear
(forexample,oneforover.25employeesupto500,onefor
every50between500and1,000).

TRELAlïï )
InIreland ,there hasbeen little ifanypositive action ,which could
beregarded ascontributing towork-sharing objectives .The
40hour standard working week hasbeen largely achieved with itsextension
toagricultural worker under arecent Wages Council Order .
Average working time formanual workers remains exceptionally high
(2.051 hours in1975 -EECLabour Force Survey )alongside anexceptionally
high unemployment level (ofover 100,000 orabout 10%).Certain specific
features oftheIrish economy ,however ,impose constraints ,forexample ,
thehigh ,dependence onexport trade andtheneed tomaintain competiti­
veness with theUnited Kingdom ,theexceptionally high dependency rate
and lowactivity rate andtheco-existence ofhigh unemployment with
significant shortages ofskilled workers .
Nonetheless ,theGovernment ,initsrecently published "Programme for
national Development 1978-198l "»liaspublicly committed itself to
reducing thenumbers ofunemployed by25,000 perannum over thenext
years -Theprogramme accepts that ,since economic growth ,even atthe
current relatively high rates ,maynot besufficient tosustain the
required level ofjobcreation ,work-sharing measures must beseriously
considered asasecond line ofattack .
ITALY
The working :woe 1:
The40-hour working week isvirtually universal ,apart from such
marginal categories asdomestic staff andpetrol pump attendants .
Working hours areonaverage thelowest intheCommunity ,with an
annual average of1,535 hours perannum estimated for1977 *Reduced
hours have been negotiated inthose sectors requiring restructuring ,
.and 29-hour week isatpresent effective inthemetallurgical and
mechanical engineering industries .
Overt img
Legislation from 1923 onwards subjects overtime inexcess of2hours
perdayor12hours -perweek totherequirements of(a)notification
toanauthorisation bythelabour inspectorate (b)agreement byworkers'
representatives and (c)payment byemployers ofanamount equal to
15c/oofremuneration forhours ofovertime tothefund which finances
unemployment benefit .

-10-
Astatistical enquiry (byISTAT ),however ,indicated that about
23-5 i°°ftheworkforce worked overtime hours .Many collective
agreements have recently provided anundertaking torestrict over­
time and toensure that thederogations allowed bylav;arekept within
limits strictly necessary todeal with ,forexemple ,difficulties
affecting thetechnical side ofproduction .For example ,inthe engi­
neering industry ,overtime hasbeen limited to2hours aday ,10hours
aweek and280hours ayear incraft undertakings andto2hours aday ,
8hours perweek andI70hours ayear inenterprises with state parti­
cipation .Alawof22July 1977 provided foranew system regulating
overtime inthepublic service ,overtime only tobecalled for excep­
tionally intheinterest ofthepublic service ,andnottoexceed
140hours perannum .
Annual holidays
Thefour-week annual holiday isvery general andinmany cases ,addi­
tional days have recently been granted tocompensate forpublic holi­
days lost following arecent rationalisation .Recent agreements provide
forupto26working days off ,depending onseniority ,forworkers in
public transport ,publishing ,hotels andcatering andinthecommercial
sector .
Shiftvork
Collective agreements frequently provide forreduced working hours or
forcompensatory rests .The current agreement for thepaper industry ,
forexample provides for7days rest ,increasing to8days in1979
and9in1980 ,inadditional tonormal compensatory rests .
Tomporary i-rorl :
Thelawof3February 197° extended thepossibilities ofintroducing
short-term employment contracts incommerce andtourism .
Educational leave
Inthe special circumstances ofItaly ,theemphasis isonthecompletion
ofbasic education .Virtually allagreements nowprovide forentitlement
to150hoursevery 3years aadthere isageneral objective ofachieving
anentitlement of250hours forspecial courses leading tomiddle school
leaving certificate .

LUXEMBOURG
Thev.'orkinffwgc'-c
Thelawof24December1977economicgrowthandfullemployment
imposeda40-hourstandardworkingweekformanualworkers,insubsti­
tutionforthegradualreductionto40hoursby1980providedinexisting
legislation .
Ovorfcimfi
Thislawalsosuspendedtheexemptionstotherequirement ofauthoriza­
tionofovertimeallowedunderexistinglegislationinrespectof
extraordinary increasesinworkloadsarisingoutofparticularcircums­
tances.Inthesecases,"theauthorization oftheMinisterofLabouris
nowrequired,withtheownsofproofontheapplicantenterprisetoshow
thatrequirements cannotbemetbythetakingonofnewrecruits.
Annualholidays
Annualholidayswerefixedataminimumof24workingdaysin1978»
25workingdaysin1979»with5workingdaysreckonedtotheweek,for
allsaleriedworkers,underalawof26July1975»asappliedbyregu­
lation.
A/roofretiromcnt
Thelawof24December1977oneconomicgrowthandfullemploymentalso
providedageneralframeworkforcompulsoryearlyretirement schemes.
Suchschemes,whichrequireaspecificregulation ,aretobeintroduced
onlyvdierepartofthelabourforceisredundantbecauseofstructural
difficulties orrationalisation .Theperiodofyearsoverwhichthe
schemecanapplyisrelatedtothresholdsofunemployment reachedin
theenterprisesaffectedandtofutureemploymentprospects.
Sofar,aschemehasbeenintroducedonlyforthesteelindustry,under
aGrandDucalregulationof27December1977»f°rthosefulfillingthe
conditionsforpension(intermsofinsurancecontributions )overthe
years1978,1979and1980.Indemnitiesunderthescheme,financedfrom
unemployment funds,areassessedat85%ofgrossearnings(calculated
overthelastthreemonths)forthefirst12months,at80$forthe
next12monthsand75J>forathirdperiodof12months.Bytheendof

-12-
1978 ,1,100 steelworkers hadtaken advantage ofthese provisions .
The1977 legislation also restricts theaccess !ofretired workers
tothelabour market ,other than those whose monthly income isless
than theminimum unskilled wage .TheMinister ofLabour mayauthorize
exceptions .
UETHERLAÎTOS
The working week
Ingeneral ,the40-hour week hasbeen adopted inalmost allcollective
agreements .Some sectors ,such asbanking andfood-processing ,have
introduced a38-hour week andinmany agreements ,there isprovision
forreduced hours forworkers over 60,forexample ,intheglass and
chemical industries ,where earnings aremaintained at85fo.
Overtime
Overtime isrestricted under theLabour Law of1919 andbeyond fairly
narrow limits (forexample an8Jhour dayforfactory andshop workers )
requires authorisation ornotification .Overtime working isalso circums­
cribed bytheprovisions ofcollective agreements ,bytherequirement ,
normally binding under the1919 law ,ofconsultation with theWorks
Council ,andbyspecific restrictions ontheworking time ofwomen ,young
perrons orelderly workers .
Shiftwork
Thegovernment has supported experiments ontheintroduction ofafifth
shift andthereduction ofworking hours ,with financial assistance from
afund fortheimprovement ofworking .conditions .
Annual leave
Thebasic leave entitlement is21days ,with 23days insome sectors .
There aremany schemes inoperation forextra time offforworkers aged
60-64 •

Apeofretirement
Collectiveagreementsnormallyprovideforretirementat65.In1977»
temporaryschemesforvoluntaryearlyretirementofworkersover63
wereintroducedineducation,inthebuildingindustryandinthe
metallurgical andengineeringindustries.Pensionersreceive75-80%
oftheirpreviouswages.Inthecaseofthebuildingindustry,justover
halfofthoseeligibletookadvantageofthenewarrangements and46$
oftheworkpostsvacated(outof67i»advertised)wereintheeventfilled
bynewrecruits.
NETHERLANDS
The1979collectiveagreementfortheprintingindustryprovidesfor
earlyretirementat63or64withwagemaintenance.Theadditionalcost
willbereimbursedfromanindustry-wide fundfinancedbyemployersand
employees.
UTTITEDKXNGDOM &
Initiativesinthefieldofworksharing havebeenverylimited,although,
intheory,thereisconsiderable scopeforthem,given,forexample,the
factthatworkinghoursareamongthelongestintheCommunity(average
workingweekforamanualworkerin1974-46.5hours)andannualholidays
inmanycases,fallingshortofthe4-weekstandardacceptedinmostEEC
countries.
Thereare,however,seriousdifficulties inthewayofgovernmentinter­
vention.Workingtimelegislationisminimal,exceptinthecaeofwomen,
childrenandtheminorityofworkerscoveredbywagescouncilsorders.
Thereissimplynobasis,forexample,forastatutorystandardworking
weekfromwhich,forexample,legislation onovertime,couldproceed.
Workingtimeisratheramatterforagreementbetweenemployersandemployees
ortheirrepresentatives .Theotherinhibitingfactoristherequirement
ofsuccessivegovernmentpaypoliciessince1975thatimprovements interms
andconditionsofwork,includingreducedweeklyhoursorincreasedholiday
entitlement ,shouldbeoffsetagainstincreasesallowableunderthevarious
payrounds.
Overtime
Thegovernmenthas,however,issuedaguideforgoodconducttotheTrade
UnionCongressovertime.
Earlyretireront
Thegovernment'sjobreleasescheme,extendedtothewholeofGreatBritain
from1April19781offersanallowancetothosewhoareworkingatleast
30hoursaweekandare64yearsofage,ifmen,59»ifwomen,

-14-
providedtheyleavetheirjobsandundertakenottoclaimunemployment
orothersocialsecurity "benefits,otherthansupplementary benefit.
Employersmustinconsequence undertaketorecruitsomeonefromthe
unemployment register,thoughnotnecessarilyforthesamejob.
3yAugust1978»over12,000personshadtakenadvantageofthescheme.
Inthecoalindustry,theNationalCoalBoard'searlyretirement scheme
hasbeenextendedtominersaged61andoverandwillbeextendedto
thoseover60in1979•Bytheendof197^»15t000hadbenefitedfrom
theinceptionoftheschemein1977*
Tcrmoraryvor<
Thetemporaryemploymentsubsidy,introducedinAugust1975»normally
offeredonlyforperiodsofuptothreemonths,uptoamaximumof
12months,v:asmadeavailabletofirmsapplyingupto31March1979»
prepared,inconsultation withregionaltradeunions,todeferimpending
red-on&ancies affecting10ormoreworkersinanestablishment .Asubsidy
of£20isprovidedforeachfull-timeworker,withhalf-rateforthose
working21-35hoursperweek.AttheendofJuly1977»159»439workers
hadbenefitedfromthesearrangements .

-15-
PARTII
PROPOSALS AUDPERSPECTIVES
♦

-16-
A.TmWORKING
InBelpp-um,oneofthemaintradeunionconfederations (FGTB)is
stronglycommittedtothereductionofthestandardworkingweekto
36hoursovera3-yearperiod,withfullwagemaintenance ,asameans
ofcreatingadditional employment .Othertradeunionconfederations
arebroadlyinsupport.Theemployers'organisation ,however,is
firmlyopposedinprinciple,onthegroundthatsuchaproposalis
likelytoresultinincreasedunitcostsofproduction and,hence,
additionalunemployment .Theargumentremainsunresolved andhas
sofarpreventedtheconclusionofaninter-trade agreementona
socialpolicyprogramme.Nonetheless ,progresscontinuestobemade
towardsareducedworkingweekinsectoralcollectiveagreements ,
thegovernmentagreementof7June1977containingacommitmentto
examinethepossibility ofastepbystepreductioninthelightof
specificconditionsinthedifferentsectorsofactivity.Prom
1October1979»therewillbea38-hourweekforcertainpersonnel
inthepublicsector.
InDenmark,whilelocalarrangements havebeenmadetoreducethe
workingweekaspartofworksharing schemesintroducedtemporarily
inresponsetoacuteproductioncrises,shorterweeklyworkinghours
areopposedbytheemployers'federationandnotregardedasapriority-
issuebythenationaltradeunionorganisation (LO).Giventhetradi­
tionaladjustmentofpublicserviceconditionstothoseintheprivate
sector,theGovernmentisnotinapositiontopursueaseparatepolicy*
IntheFederalGermanRepublic,thereiscurrentdiscussion ofarevision
ofthepresentlegislation onworkingtime,datingfrom1938andproviding
a48-hourstandardworkingweek,tobringitintolinewithactual
conditions.Whiletradeunionsareinfavour,sincea40-hourlegal
workingweekwould,amongotherthings,provideabasisforovertime
limitation ,employersareopposed.
Followingtherejectionofthedemandfora35-hourweekintheGerman
steelindustry,itremainstobeseenwhetheritcanbemetinother
industries ,suchaspaperandprinting,textilesandfoodprocessing ,
whereconsideration hadbeendeferred,pendingthesettlementofthe
recentdisputeinthesteelindustry.Ingeneral,thenationaltrade
unionorganisation doesnotattempttoimposeageneralguidelinefor

-17-
allcircumstances .Employersareopposedtogeneralworkingtime
reduction ,butpreparedtoofferimprovements forspecificgroups,
asandwheneconomiccircumstances permit.
InFrance,thegovernmenthasinvitedtheemployersand
tradeunionstoopennegotiations on(a)thearrangementofworking
time,withaparticularemphasison.theworkingtimeofthoseengaged
inheavyorstressfulworkand(b)theprogressivereductionof
"equivalences "tolegalmaximumweeklyworkinghoursincollective
agreements .Shouldthenegotiationsfail,thegovernmenthasindica­
tedthatitcouldtakeappropriate measuresofalegislative or
regulatorycharacter.
Ofthemaintradeunionconfederation ,theCGT(Confedera­
tionC^neraleduTravail)iscommittedtothedemandfora40hour
week(inactualpractice)forallsectors,withaprogressivereduction
to35hoursanda35hourweekimmediatelyforthoseengagedinheavy
orrepetitivework.TheCFDT(Confederation Fran?aiseDemocratique de
Trnvail)advocatesa35–hourweek,butwithobligatoryrecruitmentto
ensurethatthereisaproportionate work-sharing effect.TheForce
Ouvriereadvocatesgradualreductiononasectoralbasis,butwithout
designating anygeneralnorms.
InIreland,thegovernmentwillbereviewingthepresent
legalworkingweekof48hoursinconnectionwiththereviewofthe
statutorylimitation onovertime.Whilethetradeunionconfederation
supportstheEuropeanTradeUnionConfederation 'sdemandforashorter
week,thereisnostrongdemandforincreasedleisureandcertainlynot
asanalternativetowageincreases.TheGovernment'sandtheemployers'
organisation ,whileopentoproposals,wouldexpecttoseeanyfurther
reductionsofworkingtimenegotiatedinthecontextofwagedevelopments
generallyandwouldinsistonanunqualifiedunderstanding thatany
changesshouldnotgiverisetolossofcompetitiveness .
InItaly,thetradeunionsarecommittedtoaprogressive
reductionofthenormalworkingweektothirty-five hoursbythemid-
eighties,followingthetrendtoreductionbelow40hoursalreadyesta­
blishedin,forexample.themetallurgical andconstruction industries.

-18-
These demands which arecentral tomost sectoral negotiations arelargely -
motivated byadesire toreduce unemployment ,though itisaccepted
that the employment effects arelikely tobedifferent inthenorth ,
where itisessential toretain jobs inthe face ofrestructuring and
inthe south ,where there isapermanent labour surplus andwhere the
government ,under thecurrent economic development plan ,iscommitted
(1979-1981 )toavoiding increases inunemployment andmigration .
The demand forreduction inweekly working hours ismetwith reserva­
tions from employers' organisations oncost grounds ,particularly when
thedemand iscombined with ademand forincreased wages ,which are
normally indexed against inflation .There is,however ,acontinuing
dialogue onways andmeans ofcreating new jobopportunities through
reducing working hours without increasing unit costs ofproduction .
IntheNetherlands ,trade unions have demanded a35-hour week only in
themetallurgical industry .While thetrade union federation (PGN)has
forthefirst time been prepared toaccept limitation ofincreases in
income inreturn forbetter work distribution ,itisnotsofarcommitted
toanyspecific strategy .
IntheUnited Kingdom ,standard working hours aredetermined largely
bycollective agreement .While thetrade unions arepublicly committed
infavour ofshorter working hours asanimprovement inworking condi­
tions ,itisnotgenerally believed that reduction intheworking week
would contribute significantly toemployment .While there areexamples
ofagreements forareduced working week ,forexample 38hours for
Post Office engineers ,thequestion ofworking time isvery much sub­
ordinate tothat ofwage levels innegotiations andnotnormally pressed
asastrong bargaining point .
B.THE W0RKTTK3 YEAR
InBelrrium andinFrance .employers' organisations have responded to
trade union demands forareduced working week with thesuggestion of
more flexible forms ofreduced working time within anagreed annual
time budget .InBelgium ,theemployers' hadsuggested a5$reduction
inannual working time over a3-year period .
InFrance ,theactual proposal putforward ,which wasbased onastan­
dard working year of1920 hours ,wasrejected bytrade unions ashaving
theeffect ofincreasing worktime .Twoofthemajor trade union confe­
derations (CGCandCFDT )are ,however ,disposed tonegotiate onthe
basis ofaworingyear of1800 hours .

-19-
C.OVERTÏT'TS
InBol^um,whereovertimerestrictions havebeentightenedtinder
1976legislation ,theGovernmentiscommittedtofurtherreviewin
thelightofexamination oftheresultsofthisrecentlegislation by
thesocialpartners.
InD^nrmrk,thestandingcommitteeappointedbytheMinisterofLabour
toconsiderwork-sharing measurespublishedareport(January1979)
proposinglegislativerestrictions onovertimeworkingandtheintro­
ductionofcompensatory restswhereverpossible.Suchlegislation
wouldhaveanimmediateeffectonsectorsnotcoveredbycollective
agreements,andwouldalsosetaminimumstandardforcollective
agreements .
Theproposalisbasedonthefollowingmainprinciples :
(a)noemployeemayworkmorethan100hoursovertimeayear;
(b)compensatorytime-offmustbegivenforallovertimeworked;
(c)suchcompensatorytime-offmustbegivennolaterthantwomonths
aftertheovertimewasworked;
(d)anovertimeboardconsistingofthepartiestothecollective
bargainingnegotiations istobeappointedandareofitstasks
willbetoconsiderapplicationsforexemptions.
Nocompensation isanticipatedforlossofextrapay,intheeventof
restrictions onovertime.Thebillissupportedbythenational
tradeunionconfederation (L0)butrejectedbytheemployersonthe
groundsthatlegislationisinappropriate asthismatterissubject
tocollectiveagreement.Theyalsoargue(i)thatitisdifficultto
recruitreplacements ,(ii)thathundredsofsmallfirsmwouldsuffer
and(iii)thatthetotalimpactintermsofpromotingemploymentwould
'anywaybeminimal,overtimeintheprivatesectorbeingequivalentto
only3f<>ofallhoursworked(1976-1977)•

-20-
Theproposal hasnotyetbeen tabled forfirst reading inParliament ,
norhastheposition oftheGovernment (acoalition oftheSocial
Democrat Party ,normally inclined tofavour trade union views and
theVenstre (Liberal )Party ,normally inclined tofavour employers'
views )been made clear .
IntheFederal Gcrmnn Republic ,thequestion ofovertime limitation
isnot oneofpriority forthetrade unions .Employers areopposed to
ageneral limitation ,inview ofshortages ofskilled workers .The
Government prefers toleave theresponsibility fordeciding between
compensatory rests andmonetary premiums tothetwosides ofindustry .
There issome limited movement inthedirection ofcompensatory rests
inindustry ,forexample infood processing .
InFrance ,theGovernment isconsidering alevy onovertime ,which' is
relatively extensively practised ,thedetailed arrangements tobe
open todiscussion with employers andtrade unions .Theproduct of
thelevy would beallocated tounemployment insurance .
InIreland ,high rates ofunemployment (currently about 10%)
co-exist with thelongest working hours intheCommunity (Labour
Force Survey for1975 -average of2051 hours perannum permanual
worker ).
TheGovernment ispublicly committed toareduction inthestatutory
limits onovertime ,which date from 1936 andintends tolegislate in
1979 following (a)consultations with trade unions andemployers and
(b)thecompletion ofstudies on(i)labour costs andthestructure
anddistribution ofearning and (ii)thereasons forworking overtime .
Theconversion ofsocial insurance toapay-related basis from April
1979 should also help toencourage employers tocontemplate therepla­
cement ofovertime bytherecruitnent ofextra workers .There isno
suggestion ofreplacing overtime payments with compensatory rests .
There isgeneral agreement byemployers andtrade unions that "exces­
sive "overtime should bediscouraged andthat thepresent legislative
limits ,which permit overtime of12hours ontopofastandard working
week of48hours areinanycase divorced from reality .Employers are ,
however ,concerned that newlegislation should notbesoinflexible
that itexacerbates thepresent shortage ofskilled workers ,frequently
relieved byovertime working .Trade unions areparticularly concerned
that lower –paid workers dependent onovertime earnings should not

-21-
suffer areduction in "their living standards .TheGovernment , j
inseeking toreduce systematic overtime inthepublic services ,
isequally aware ofthis problem .
InItaly ,trade unions are favourable tofurther efforts torein­
force control ofovertime ,already limited bycomparison with other
Member States .This control ,while efficient inthe larger enter­
prises ,isperhaps less soinsmaller firms ,particularly inthe
south ,inareas oftraditionally high unemployment .
Inthe United Kingdom ,the Government has welcomed recent initia­
tives oftheTrade Union Congress toreduce overtime working .Itis
generally agreed that ,while aproportion ofovertime workers may
depend onovertime earnings foraminimum acceptable living standard ,
there iswide scope fortheprovision ofadditional jobs insubsti­
tution forovertime working atnoincreased cost .TheNew Earnings
Survey 1974 indicated anaverage working week of46-5 hours formale
manual workers .
D.SIIIÎT'ORK
IntheFederal German Republic ,shiftwork isnot acentral issue for
government ortrade unions ,andthere isnosuggestion ofafive shift
system except for specific industries orbranches ofindustry .
Following theprecedent oftherecent agreements inthe steel industry .
However ,there maybeatrend towards inclusion ofspecial provisions
forshift workers ,such asadditional free time ,incollective agree­
ments .
InFrance .theGovernment has indicated that itisprepared tosupport
areduction inworking hours ofshiftworkers from 42(under a
4-shift system )to35orless (introducing afifth chift )asageneral
objective tobeachieved inthefuture ,andasashort-term objective
forshiftworkers engaged inheavy orstressful work .Working parties
have been setuptostudy theconditions under which aninth half-
shift could begradually introduced with theeffect ofreducing the
working week to37^hours andfreeing anestimated 25-30 ,000work-
posts ,Reform ofshiftv /ork ,however ,will bedependent on(a)an

-22-
t»
und'Tctandinc thatemployersandemployeesanwella3theGovern­
mentwillallshareinthecostand(b)parallelactionbyother
KorabcrStatesoftheEuropeanEconomicCommunity.
■l-nIandinIti"!y,shift-worktendstobeviewodlensnega­
tivelythaninotherMemberStatesasprovidingamaximumofemplo
mcntinrelationtoagivencapitalinvestment.InItilv,however,
onemajortradeunionconfederation (theU.I.L.)hasincluded
reductionofworkinghours-forshiftworkers initsprogramme.
TheGovernment,followingthephilosophyofsofteningrigidities
inthelabourmarket,setoutinthenationaleconomicdevelopment
planfor1979-1971 »isexaminingthepossibilities ofadditional
employmentwhichcouldberealised -byintroducing afifthshift
incontinuousshift-working system^.
InLu:-:embourft,tradeunionorganisations axeseekingagradual
reductionofworkinghoursforsteelworkers workingincontinuous
shifts.Theworkingweekforshiftworkers remains40hoursin1all
sectors,exceptsyntheticfibres,wherea39^-hourweekhasbeen
negotiatedforcontinuousshiftworkers .

23-
E.HOLIDAYS
InDonnnrk ,"thenational trade union confederation (LO)hasplaced
much emphasis onlonger holidays during thecurrent collective bar­
gaining negotiations .The lav;atpresent provided aminimum of
4weeks' annual holiday .While thetrade unions regard longer holidays
asamajor means ofachieving worksharing ,government andemployers
remain sceptical .
InthePodoral German Republic ,theGovernment isconsidering whether
itcanadopt theprinciple of4weeks *holiday ,contained intheEEC
recommendation of22July 1975 »infederal legislation .Employers ,
while generally sympathetic toincreases inannual holidays innego­
tiations ,6weeks being nowquite common ,would prefer toavoid gene­
.ralregulation asmuch aspossible andconcentrate improvement on
specific groups ,such asolder employees orthose involved inheavy
orstressful work .
InFrinco ,theGovernment andtwo ofthemajor trade union confede­
rations (CFDT andPO)support theobjective ofafifth week ofannual
holidays formanual workers .Theemployers' organisation (CNPP )while
not infavour ,isprepared tonegotiate onthebasis offlexibility
within anannual time budget .
InIt.?.ly ,employers' organisations have ,innegotiation onreduced
working time ,expressed apreference foradditional annual leave as
amethod ofachieving thereductions desired bythetrade unions .
Inthe where the4-week annual holiday isachieved
virtually universally ,trade unions have been advancing demands for
....upto25days paid annual holiday by1981 .
■F.AGE OFRJTPIRHÏEnT ■
In nriura .thesocial partners have taken arather positive position
onearly retirement intheCentral Economic Council (advice onthe
economic situation of22December 1977 )*providing that such retire­
ment isvoluntary ,measures areintroduced selectively ,forexample
inthecase ofsectoral restructuring , there issome limitation on
taking another job .

-24-
InDenmark ,the lav /of1January 1979 onearly retirement waspassed
without thesupport oftheemployers organisations ,who still doubt
itspossibilities forchecking unemployment .Thenational trade union
organisation ,however ,isfirmly insupport ofthe nev:regime and
hasexpressed thehope that theearly retirement scheme might even­
tually beextended ,possibly byintroducing alower agelimit combined
with asystem ofpart-time working after 50years ofage .
IntheFederal German Republic ,theGovernment andthe social partners
regard thereduction ofthealready flexible upper age limit asa
desirable aim ofsocial policy ,which canalso offer certain advan­
tages inrelation toemployment policy .Such anaimcannot ,however ,
beachieved inthe short run for financial reasons and the Government
hasnoplans forextending theprinciple embodied inrecent legis­
lation for thehandicapped andforminers toother groups .
Efforts arehowever being made incertain industries ,forexample by
thefood ,drink andcatering trade union ,tohave thetransition
from work toretirement eased byashorter working week ,longer
holidays andeven part-time work asarun-down towards retirement .
InFrrtnce ,thePrime Minister 'slegislative programme includes
measures togive workers achoice at60andover between continuing
infull-time work ,orearly retirement with aguaranteed acceptable
level ofincome orgradual reduction ofworking hours .
InIreland ,while theGovernment isprepared toconsider pilot
schemes within thepublic service andtopursue further studies ,
early retirement isnotregarded aslikely tomake asignificant
contribution tothecreation ofemployment .TheGovernment 'sview ,
which isshared byemployers andtrade unions ,islargely conditioned
bytheexceptionally high dependency rate ,inacountry where one-third
ofthepopulation areunder 15andthefemale activity rate isthe
lowest intheEEC .Employers arealso anxious about anyincrease in
thecost ofprivate occupational pension schemes ,financed byindustry .
Both employers andtrade unions take theview that early retirement
isnotgenerally regarded asanattractive proposition ,particularly
intimes ofeven moderate inflation .Both agree that early retirement
would belikely ,particularly inthecase ofskilled craftsmen ,who
areinshort supply ,tolead todouble -jobbing rather than an
increase inemployment .

-25-
In^?,1y."theGovernmentisconsideringthefeasabilityofintroducing
moreflexiblearrangements forretirement,withthepossibilityofa
gradualreductionofworkinghoursapproachingretirementage.
InLtucornbourf' ;,thegovernmentisdrawingupacomprehensive reformof
thesystemoffinancingofcontributory oldagepensions,onthebasis
ofanopinionoftheEconomicandSocialCouncil.Suchareformcould
increasethescopeformoreflexiblearrangements forretirement .
G.P/Jî?–TI:T"SUORK
In2-n."i'ln,thegovernmentagreementof7June1977onworksharmg included
thepromotionofpart-timeworkasapossiblemeasureofwork-sharing .
I.Tiileanextensionofpart-timeisfavouredbytheemployers 1organisations ,
however,tradeunionsareopposedtothegeneralisation andinstitutionali­
zationofpart-timework,presentedasanalternativesolutiontothe
problemofv.-orksharing ,preferringareductioninthestandardworkingweek.
Recently,aproposalwastabledintheSenateforlegislation modifying
certainsocialsecurityprovisionswithaviewtomakingpart-timework
riiorf:attractive.
IntheFloralGerm,mRepublic,theproportionofthefemaleunemployed
neckingpart-timeworkisashighas40quiteapartfromanyfurther
unsatisfied demandforpart-timework.Employers *associations recommend
expansioninpart-timejobs,despitetheincreasedfinancialburden.
Tradeunionsrecognisetheneedandaxepreparedtoacceptexpansion,provi­
dingthereisnothreattoestablishedfull-timejobsorreductionofsocial
securityforpart-timeemployees.Bothsidesofindustryawaittheresults
ofcurrentgovernmentinitiatives .Lastyear,theFederalGovernmentintro­
ducedaBillincreasingpart-timeworkforofficials,includingprohibition
ofholdingasecondjobatthesametime.TheLandergovernments havesofar
beenveryreservedintheirreactions.
inPrince,theGovernmentisstudyingwaysandmeansofdevelopingand
extendingpart-timework,particularly inthepublicservice.

-26-
InIrcl end ,theGovernment has noproposals forthe .extension of ^-irt-
time work ,though theforthcoming change toflat-rate social insurance
contributions islikely toencourage some further demand forpart-time
work .While there isnoseparate register ofpart-time unemployed ,their
numbers arethought tobelow ,sothat increased opportunities forpart-
time work areunlikely toreduce thelive unemployed register very signi­
ficantly .Employers favour theflexibility ofalarger part-time element
intheworkforce .Trade unions arerather opposed both to"dilution "of
theworkforce and tothepotential use ofpart-time asasubstitute for
full–time employment .
TheIrish Government ispublicly committed toaction todiscourage the
practice ofsecond jobs andtoensure that ,where persons arebeing
taken onfortemporary orpart-time employment ,preference will be
given inthenormal course tothose who areunemployed .Surveys are
being carried outtoobtain further information about thecharacteristics
ofthose taking second jobs ,forexample the incidence ofskilled workers
within this group andfurther action isnot tobeexcluded .Itisalso
expected that anyrevised statutory limit onovertime will apply tosecond
andfirst jobs combined .Trade unions andemployers arebroadly sympathetic
towards thegovernment 'sefforts ,given theextent ofdouble-jobbing ,which
involves perhaps 5-7 of "theworkforce .
InItaly ,thegovernment isexamining thepossibilities fordeveloping
part-time work ,inthecontext oftheproblem ofwomen atwork (including
high levels ofabsenteeism ).
IntheKethcrl ands ,anumber ofrecent collective agreements commit the
social partners toexploring thefeasability ofintroducing part-time work .
H.TZT ORARY WORK
b*
InIr<v pnd .thegovernment ispublicly committed tosetting upatemporary
hire agency under theaegis oftheNational Manpower Service .The object
isnottocontrol theactivities ofexisting agencies ,which operate almost
exclusively intheservice sector ,buttosupplement those activities by
providing aservice forindustry .Employers arefavourable ,trade unions
reserved ,pending clarification ofthedetails .

-27-
Inthegovernmentisconsideringthepromotionoftemporaryworkas
ameansofsofteningtherigiditiesinthelabourmarket,inthecontext
ofthenationaleconomicdevelopmentplanfor1979-1981.
i.nïïcnT-Ti:^uorkieg
InBo1fcium,thegovernmenthasencouragedarrangements forcontinuing
part-timeworkinsituationswhereredundancies wouldotherwiseoccur,and
manycollectiveagreementshavetakenupthistheme,which,however,
remainscontroversial .
IntheUnitedKingdom,ashort-timeworkingcompensation schemeisin
preparationtoimprovearrangements forprovidingcompensation toworkers
onshort-timeandtoavoidredundencies in"businesseswhicharebasically
viablebutareundergoingperiodsofdifficulty.
J.TOCUCATI01TAI7DTRAI1TIKJ
In3^1.Tium.theprincipleofprlongation ofcompulsoryeducationwas
includedinthegeneralframeworkofthe'governmentagreementof
7June1977worksharing .Noproposalshave,however,asyetbeenput
forwardandthetechnicalproblems,suchasthecontentofthecurriculum
foranadditionalschoolyear,arestillbeingexamined.TheNational
LabourCounciliscurrentlyexaminingcertainproposalsforthereformof
legislation oncreditsforhoursspentonfurthereducation.Agreement
alreadyexistsontheextensionofthefieldofapplication ofthelaw
andonimprovementinthetermsonwhicheducational leaveistaken.
InDcnrmr-cthetradeunionshaveformanyyearsrecommended ascheme
whichwouldallowtheemployee,overquitealongspanofhisworkinglife,
totakep.periodofpaideducational leave.InLO'sview,suchascheme
isameansofworksharingandtheaimisthat5$ofthetotallabour
forceatanytimeshouldhaveuptooneyear'spaidle^ve.Ithasbeen
estimatedthataround30,000–40,000peoplewouldbeentitledtotake
advantageofsuchleave.Atpresentnoproposalsonthissubjecthave
beenplannedbytheGovernment.Theemployers'federationremainsopposed
ongroundsofthecosts,whichthetradeunionspresupposewouldfall
tobemetbyemployers.

-28-
IntheFederal Gcrmnn Republic ,there has "been ageneral tendency to
lengthen theduration ofeducation andthetrade unions support ademand
for atenth year ofgeneral compulsory education .Employers would prefer this
.year tooeused forvocational education .
Given that education isaland responsibility ,federal government inter­
vention islargely precluded .Paid educational leave isoneofthecentral
demands ofthetrade unions .Employers aresceptical ,taking theview
that existing possibilities areunder –used .TheGovernment sees the
matter asonefornegotiation between trade unions andemployers .
InIre 1p.nd ,thequestion ofraising the school leaving age isregarded
r.ytheGovernment andthe social partners asamatter foreducational
-r.dnotemployment policy .Given recent increases inparticipation
rc.tes ineducation after thelegal minimum school leaving age ,itis
inanycase doubtful whether the impact ofanychange would besubstantial .
Itisalso felt that itwould beundesirable toincrease analready high
dependency rate .
Oneducational leave ,theGovernment hasrecently accepted theprinciple
ofaright topaid educational leave andindicated itsintention toratify
ILOConvention no.140 ,subject tothe outcome ofexamination byrepre­
sentatives ofemployers andtrade unions ofpossible lines ofimplementation
inpractice .
IntheITcthorl.mds ,theadhoccommission setupbytheSocial andEconomic
Council tostudy thequestion ofeducational leave hasmade aninterim
recommendation advocating ari^it ofallworkers topaid educational leave .