Union calls for the working week to be cut to four days

A shorter working week could become a reality this century, according to the Trade Union Congress.

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC has called for a four-day working week, so workers could ‘share the wealth generated by technological advances.’

Over 1.4 million people are now working on 7 days of the week, 3.3 million people work more than 45 hours a week and almost half-a-million work more than 60 hours the trade union says.

A report published by the TUC says technology threatens to encroach into our non-working time too.

A survey of over 2,000 found one-in-seven workers hours have increased due to new technology ‘as your boss can reach you even when you’re not in the workplace.’

It also found that four out of five wanted to cut their working hours without loss of pay as new technology makes work more efficient.

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC has called for a four-day working week

Speaking to the TUC Congress in Manchester today Frances O’Grady will call for new technology to pave the way for a shorter working week and higher pay.

“In the nineteenth century, unions campaigned for an eight-hour day. In the twentieth century, we won the right to a two-day weekend and paid holidays.

So, for the twenty-first century, let’s lift our ambition again.

I believe that in this century we can win a four-day working week, with decent pay for everyone.

It’s time to share the wealth from new technology. Not allow those at the top to grab it for themselves.

Jeff Bezos owns Amazon – now a trillion dollar company. He’s racking up the billions while his workers are collapsing on the job exhausted.

We need strong unions with the right to go into every workplace – starting with Amazon’s warehouses here in the UK.”

An Amazon spokesperson said:

“Amazon provides a safe and positive workplace for thousands of people across the UK with competitive pay and benefits from day one.

We have a focus on ensuring we provide a great environment for all our employees and Amazon was recently named by LinkedIn as the 7th most sought after place to work in the UK and ranked first place in the US.

Amazon also offers public tours of its fulfilment centres so customers can see first-hand what happens after they click “buy” on Amazon by visitinguk.amazonfctours.com.”