Concept of 32-hour week refloated by Kitchen Table

Press, 12 October 1988, Page 8

Concept of 32-hour week refloated by Kitchen Table

By

DEBORAH McPHERSON

An idea for a 32-hour working week has been refloated by the Christchurch Kitchen Table, a women’s economic monitoring group. The idea of a reduced working week with no loss of pay was not a new one historically but during present high unemployment the idea ought to be reconsidered, said a spokeswoman, Ms Tor Wainwright. A 32-hour working week had the advantage of spreading available work more fairly, which would help solve the unemployment problem. It

would also create more leisure time. Under a reduced working week with no loss of pay, people would have more money to spend. Businesses would find it profitable to start up again, as happened in the 1930 s after the introduction of the 40-hour week, said Ms Wainwright.

"We are told that unemployment is inevitable because technology has done away with many jobs. If that means a machine can make shoes in a factory, surely that could free people to do more rewarding jobs,” she said.

New Zealand had the money to finance a

shorter working week.

“It would come from a capital gains tax on the money now being transferred overseas, . going into speculative investments and company takeovers, and being used for exorbitant salaries for a few top managers. “The money that financed the KZ7 jamboree could have been used to create jobs for our children.”

At the moment money was not being spent on jobs and so people had no spending power in a time of economic recession.

Most employers would naturally react negatively and argue that any individual firm that paid more

wages for less work would go out of business, said Ms Wainwright. “But dozens of Christchurch firms are going out of business right now.”

Similar suggestions for shorter working hours had also been made in the past by trade unions and Socialist Alliance. A report on a 35-hour working week was published in 1984 by the International Labour Organisation.

The Kitchen Table was formed as an antithesis of the Business Round Table to monitor the Government’s economic policies and how they affect women.