stevehem avatar

Well, should we reduce the working week?

stevehem

Published: 29 Sept 2019 › Updated: 29 Sept 2019Well, should we reduce the working week?

Well, should we reduce the working week?

John McDonnell is proposing that the working week be dropped to four days. This assumes that there is a fundamental imbalance between employees and employers which is not, presumably, corrected by the existence of trade unions.

It's an interesting idea, but it is one more assault on the ability of autonomous citizens to enter into contractual relations with one another and therefore a further notch down in our ability to maintain any sort of growth in productivity.

I don't suppose that in practice this will make much difference. The working time directive of the European Social Chapter does not prevent investment bankers working a hundred hours a week. Why should this be any different. It's not as though someone wanting to work longer is going to sue.

Link to my Trello card.

Leave Well, should we reduce the working week? to:

Written by

Read more #policy posts


Best Posts From stevehem

We have not curated any of stevehem's posts yet. But you can encourage our curation team to review posts by visiting them regularly and by referring other readers. Because we give priority to frequently read content.

More Posts From stevehem