CORRESPONDENCE THE 40-HOUR WEEK.

Evening Star, Issue 22465, 9 October 1936, Page 12

CORRESPONDENCE

THE 40-HOUR WEEK.

TO TUB BDITOS. Sir, —Concerning the 40-hour week, one of your correspondents mentioned the case of the grocers working behind closed doors to make up lost time; something was also mentioned about the bakers’ hours. 1 would like to ask, what about all our carriers and carters in the town? It is well known that these hard-working men have to cram a day’s work into half a day—namely, Saturday morning. The whole crux of the trouble is that the working classes are paid on a Friday, the worst day possible, as almost everybody orders coal and groceries, etc., to be delivered on a Saturday morning. I especially want to stress the coalmen’s case. If anybody deserves' a 40-hour week ft is these men. To carry coal for five days a week would be quite sufficient. I think a good remedy would be to alter the people’s pay day to Thursday for everyone, which would make people order their necessities earlier. As far as the 44-hour week goes, from what I can observe the lorry drivers and carriers who come under the above award are still doing their 50 and 60 hours a week—this is no exaggeration—and I have it on good authority that there is one well-known carrying firm in this city whose employees never finish their day’s work before 6 p.m. every day in the week. The 40-hour week as it is now is a failure, and will continue to be so until it is Dominion wide.—l am, etc., All on Nil. October 8.