FORTY-HOUR WEEK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 January 1941, Page 7

FORTY-HOUR WEEK

OPERATION IN UNITED STATES EFFECT ON WAR INDUSTRY. SHARP CONTROVERSY AROUSED. Recently the standard work week; for industries in interstate commerce in America, with some- exceptions, be-, came 40 hours with a provision for time and a half for overtime writes; the New York correspondent of the! "Sydney Morning Herald." The Fair! Labour Standards Act. which was de-; signed to reduce lhe working week | from 48 hours to 44 in the first year' year, will now have achieved its ultimate goal. However, as this occurs just as America is straining every nerve to set in'. • motion its 12.500 million dollar defence programme. a serious controversy has arisen as to the wisdom o' this far-reaching piece of reform legislation at ’.he present time. j By some interests chiefly industrial{ ownership and management, it is al-1 leged that n will both retard the rati ; i production and increase costs "with! results ir.acie familiar during 'he boon. I and collapse of 1937-38." By other in terests. namely labour, n is insisted j that she shorter work week "will m>. I i nly maintain and heighten labour’- ; efficiency, but will also further the defence effort." 'The issue seems to b< slcarly drawn. 2.000.C00 AFFECTED. When the Fair Labour Standards Ac’ was passed, the avowed objective of Congress was to fix a ceiling for hour: and a floor for wages. The first year the minimum wage was 25 cent per hour and for the following six years it is to be 30 cents, and ultimately gi to 40. In short, although the hours, ceiling has already been attained the floor for wages has not yet been secured. it is estimated that approximately 2.000 000 workers will be affected by the 40-hcur week. since at presen; 2,650 000 are working more than that and some 71)0,000 were receiving overtime pay although the law did not theA require it. The hope is expressed, of course that the tendency of the innovation will be not so much to increase the wages of the individuals presently employed as t<> increase the number of gainfully occupied. That was the aim of Congressional leaders, as it was also to discourage cut-throat competition based on sweating and to raise the consuming powers of the lower levels of labour.

There are at present anywhere from 7.000.000 to 10 000.000 unemployed, although it is expected that this figure will be reduced by 2 000 000 in 1941 It is contended, however, that despite efforts by the United States Employment Service, in co-operation with labour unions to list and classify some 5.200,000 ef these unemployed according to skills, and that some thought is being given to the problem of additional training for these and others of the unemployed, there is little reason to believe that the unemployed ranks will offer the necessary human materia! to make up the sharp shortage of skill already existing in the defence industries. The 2.000.000 beneficiaries of the 40hour week, moreover, are said to be principally engaged in these industries

—machine and machine tools, chemi* cals electrical products, etc. Further* more, the nation is said to have launched its defence programme at a time when it possessed 12 per cent fewer skilled workers than it had al tin* beginning of the fourth decade of the century. Men who have been long unemployed although once skilful are now considered definitely unsuited for the modern techniques. EFFECT ON DEFENCE. The 40-hour week is perhaps the most important aspect of the New Deal labour reform to come into operation so late It is however, only one aspect of the incidence of application of this total reform to the problem of the defence programme. A recent ruling by the Assistant United States Attorney General, Mr Thurman Arnold. field 'hat tile Government was empowered under existing law to deny any contract !>>r defence to a manufacturer found guilty of violating the Natoma 1 Labour Relations Act This was at once Mrungty challengt-d by the chairman of the N.<!-0.'..d Defence Advn ry Commission Mr William K mad sen ■ ; One of :h<* most arre-tmj.; arguments advanced iigamst the 40-hmir week a--a disruptive force in that programme was by mniiogy with the effect of the ti- n« :r week <>n the rearmament of France N>' sr .authority «n French, affairs that; American Ambassador to France, William C Bullitt in ;m address dei hired that France behe tried ' > pr<xluce lank* and plane . .th iut ■■ arnllcing the Ht-hotn ■.t'H'k .Mi Bul.Mt w. •■. immediately answered by othei j aid ■■ . is ■>h< ■ de■ Mau ci th..! ihe 40 .nr v. eel: had •-.'.him! to do '.'.dh France .■ debacle These observer; 1 tressed that the -10‘war week had Iwn m forte generally m France for only .Us. u t a ye;. anti f th... F» nt Po; re Flit the! ;ch th.-; e ii.x! : <•<•» •. 1 Sv in-i ;il 10- T.-.o week m French ;. ;,«d that if s tween sewui-e t C.<t MORALE OF THE PEOPLE. • , • - ■ ■ ;.■ 4 t . ■ ‘ ’s ..