ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 30 November 1938, Page 8

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

EFFECT OF REVIVAL INCREASED HOURS OF OVERTIME REPORT FROM GENEVA GENEVA. September. The revival of economic activity that occurred in 1937 in practically all the countries of the world led not only to a return to normal hours of work in most countries, but to an increase in many of them in the number of hours of overtime, according to the 1938 edition of the International Labour Office Year Book, which will shortly be published at Geneva. The increase in overtime is attributed by the Year Book largely to the effect of armaments programmes. Thus, in Germany, where preference in the granting of permits for overtime was given to army work and to contracts from abroad, the Year Book points out. hours of work were increased from 7.59 per day in 1936 to 7.68 in 1937; while in Italy, they rose from 161 in October, 1936. to 165 in October, 1937. In Czechoslovakia, the number of overtime hours worked during the first six months of 1937 totalled 638,000. as compared with 806.943 for the whole of 1936; and in Belgium, the total overtime hours worked in 1937 was 473.433 as compared with 316.817 in 1936. “In Switzerland.” says the Year Book, “the devaluation of the currency and the orders received from countries which were increasing their armaments helped to bring about a revival of activity in many branches of industry, with the result that hours of work were increased to normal limits. In many cases, overtime had to be worked or a modified normal working week of 52 hours was found necessary.” The Year Book notes “two distinct periods” in France. It explains: “During the first of these, the workers’’organisations w’ere able to secure enforcement of a 40-hour week by collective agreement in an even stricter form than had been prescribed in the Decrees. The increasing debit balance of trade brought about by the joint influence of various economic, financial and social factors, however, led the Government to undertake an enquiry into production in the summer of 1937, after which various orders were issued to introduce a certain elasticity in the application of the legislation, more particularly for the benefit of industries which, although not strictly seasonal, are subject to extensive fluctuations, and industries in which there is a shortage of skilled labour. According to statistics, hours of work were 45.8 in the week in 1936 in industry, mines, transport and commerce (the first Decrees to give effect to the 40hour week were introduced at the end of 1936) and fell to 40.4 in 1937. Early in 1938 the workers’ organisations, at the request of the Government, agreed to accept overtime in industries working for national defence, provided that certain guarantees were given in exchange.” With regard to the United States, the Year Book points out that there was a tendency, during the spring and early summer of 1937, to increase hours of work so as to meet the revival in economic activity, but that hours fell again when a new depression set in. The weekly average of hours of work in industry there, it discloses, dropped from 39.8 in 1936 to 39.2 in 1937.

Other countries in which hours were reduced, according to the Year Book, were Australia and Great Britain; other countries in which hours were increased were Finland, Poland and New Zealand.