{"id":2002,"date":"2018-09-10T01:52:33","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T01:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/unions-call-for-four-day-working-week\/"},"modified":"2018-09-10T01:52:33","modified_gmt":"2018-09-10T01:52:33","slug":"unions-call-for-four-day-working-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/unions-call-for-four-day-working-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Unions call for four-day working week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Media caption<\/span>“I don’t see why four days is not doable for most people”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A four-day working week will be possible this century if businesses are forced to share the benefits of new technology with their workforce. <\/p>\n

That’s the claim from the TUC, which is using its annual conference to call on the government to take action to help people work less but get paid the same. <\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence, robotics and automation could provide a \u00a3200bn UK economic boost in the next decade. <\/p>\n

At one Welsh firm staff already get a full salary for four days work.<\/p>\n

‘Productive’<\/h2>\n

Mark Hooper, founder of Cardiff-based IndyCube, said the transition to this new working arrangement over the last 18 months had not always been easy. <\/p>\n

“We felt we had an opportunity to prove something, that you can be as productive in four days as five, and it has been worth it,” he said. <\/p>\n

Now the company is outputting more and expanding outside of Wales. <\/p>\n

His colleague Russ Todd spreads his time out to help with school runs and family time.<\/p>\n

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\n Russ Todd says the arrangement gives him more flexibility with his time
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“My father would work long hours. He was up before I was up and he was home after I went to bed,” he said. “It is important to be there. It matters.” <\/p>\n

Employee Mari Dunning has used some of her extra time to get a collection of poetry published, amongst more menial tasks. <\/p>\n

Or if you use the extra day to get the housework done, “you’ve then got your weekend wide open”, she said.<\/p>\n

“I don’t see why four days is not doable for most people,” she added.<\/p>\n

But for most British workers the trend is going in the other direction. <\/p>\n

‘Better working lives’<\/h2>\n

Some 1.4 million people now work a full seven days a week in the UK, according to the TUC, and 51% of people they surveyed said they feared the benefits of new technology would go to company managers and shareholders. <\/p>\n

A report this January from Centre for Cities found that 3.6m UK jobs could be replaced by machines by 2030.<\/p>\n

The TUC’s general secretary Frances O’Grady highlighted that unions had fought for two-day weekends and limits on long hours – and that this is their next challenge. <\/p>\n

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\n PA<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n Frances O’Grady has led the TUC since 2013
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“We know that some people are pessimistic about whether technology will make their lives better but technology could be a force for good, we can also make everyone’s working lives better and richer,” she explained. <\/p>\n

“It doesn’t have to be about surveillance and exploitation. This could be about creating more satisfying work.”<\/p>\n

But that may not be easy. <\/p>\n

‘Protecting jobs’<\/h2>\n

The Communication and Workers Union just took on that fight – to have the benefits of automation evenly shared – at the Royal Mail.<\/p>\n

When the postal service invested in new sorting machines – thus cutting down on the amount of time workers were needed to sort out packages – it wanted the staff to work extended delivery rounds instead. <\/p>\n

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\n Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n New tech disrupted the working week for staff at Royal Mail
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Terry Pullinger was the lead union rep on the dispute that took two years to resolve.<\/p>\n

“Our objective was to work towards a 35-hour week,” he said. <\/p>\n

“Crucial to us was to protect as many jobs as possible with the technology that is coming in, which is taking out a lot of the work that our members are doing. And fortunately we ended up in a situation where the employer agreed with us.” <\/p>\n

He added: “People are finding that they’re being pushed to work harder, [but] how much can people take?”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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