LONGER HOURS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 75, 26 September 1938, Page 10

LONGER HOURS

DECREES IN FRANCE

DALADIER'S POLICY

A GENERAL SPEEDING UP

(By Air Mail, from "The Post's" London Representative.) LONDON, September 1. A decree putting into force the greater part of M. Daladier's scheme for relaxing the 40-hour week where necessary to speed up re-armament or assist the national economy was signed on August 30 by President Lebrun and all the Ministers. Apparently legislation will be necessary to put the finishing touch to the scheme, so that an early convocation of Parliament may be expected. The decree consists of two parts. The first concerns "the interests of national defence, national safety, or the public services." Within these spheres the Government will decide when and at what wage rate departures from the 40-hour week are necessary. The decisions will be immediately applicable. The Paris correspondent of "The Times" writes: So many decrees have been issued interpreting the 40-hour week law since its passage on June 21, 1936, that it may be doubted whether the average Frenchman knows where he stands. Today's decree makes it doubtful whether even M. Daladier realised what his powers were when he broadcast the address in which he announced his intention to modify the incidence of the law. M. Ramadier, the Minister of Labour, who resigned because he was not consulted before M. Daladier made the speech, has pointed out.that the Government already had the power to authorise unlimited overtime in national defence industries. This power was given by a decree promulgated on May 24. His view is supported by M. Lebas, Minister of Labour in the first Blum Government, who was responsible for piloting the 40-hour Act through Parliament. In the military aircraft industry a 45-hour week has been in operation since April 12. The first part of today's decree, therefore, appears to be redundant. A 43J-HOUR WEEK. In all other industries facilities for the working of some overtime have been in existence since the application of the law. Early last year the Government announced that employers had the right to ask their staffs to work an extra day for each working day lost through the observance of a legal holiday. This right was legally established in a decree promulgated on May 24 of this year, which authorised the working of 75 hours of overtime every year. Today's decree makes another 100 hours permissible, thus making the maximum length of the working week 43J hours. In the machine-tool industry employers were given the right on August 8 to ask all skilled men to do another 75 hours a year. For them, therefore, the average maximum length of the working week becomes 45 hours. The real difficulty is not overtime work but overtime rates of pay. .Overtime rates of 25 per cent, to 50^ per cent, have added enormously to" the cost of re-armament, and it was no doubt this that M. Daladier had in mind when he spoke of limiting these rates to 10 per cent, over the normal rate. This, however, cannot be done by decree, for it would override existing wage agreements. At. today's Council of Ministers it was, therefore, decided to draft a Bill authorising a reduction in existing overtime rates. The Bill will be tabled on the ieassembly of Parliament.