ILO Says 1 in 5 Workers Puts In Excessive Hours

Nearly a century after adopting its first international standard on working time, a new study by the International Labour Office estimates that one in five workers around the world - or over 600 million persons - are still working more than 48 hours a week, often merely to make ends meet.

The new study, Working Time Around the World: Trends in working hours, laws and policies in a global comparative perspective says an estimated 22 per cent of the global workforce, or 614.2 million workers, are working "excessively" long hours.

Shorter hours, the report says, can have positive consequences including benefits to workers' health and family lives, reduced accidents at the workplace, as well as greater productivity and equality between the sexes. At the same time, the study says a considerable number of short-hours workers in developing and transition countries may be underemployed, and thus more likely to fall into poverty.

The study spotlights working time in over 50 countries, and for the first time explores the implications for working time policies in developing and transition countries. For the most part, it shows that the distribution of working hours in developing and transition countries to be highly diverse, with some individuals working very long hours, and others working short hours.

In terms of those countries with the highest incidence of long working hours for 2004-05 (defined as more than 48 hours per week), Peru topped the list at 50.9 per cent of workers, the Republic of Korea at 49.5 per cent, Thailand at 46.7 per cent, and Pakistan at 44.4 per cent . In developed countries, where working hours are typically shorter, the United Kingdom stood at 25.7 per cent, Israel at 25.5 per cent, Australia at 20.4 per cent, Switzerland at 19.2 per cent, and the United States at 18.1 per cent.

Attempts to reduce hours in these countries have been unsuccessful for various reasons including the need of workers to work long hours simply to make ends meet and the widespread use of overtime by employers in an effort to increase their enterprises' output under conditions of low productivity, the report says, noting that, generally speaking, laws and policies on working time have a limited influence on actual working hours in developing economies, especially in terms of maximum weekly hours, overtime payments and their effect on informal employment.

Another element of concern is what the report calls a clear "gender gap" in working time. The study says men tend to work longer average hours than women worldwide, with women working shorter hours in almost every country studied. Moreover, men are more likely to work long hours than women, while women are far more likely to work short hours (less than 35 per week) than men. The report concludes that this is likely due to their bearing the primary responsibility for "unpaid" work in households and providing care for family members, not only children but also the elderly and individuals suffering from diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

ENDS

© Scoop Media