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lıfe a get A REPORT ON THE SASKATCHEWAN FEDERATION OF LABOUR’S CONFERENCE STRATEGIES FOR REDUCED WORKTIME AND FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACES
lıfeagetA REPORT ON THE SASKATCHEWAN FEDERATION OF LABOUR’S CONFERENCE
STRATEGIES FOR REDUCED WORKTIME AND FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACES
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour(306) 525-0197
This project was sponsored by
Status of WomenCanada
6
Strategies for Reduced Worktime and Family-Friendly Workplaces
A report on the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour’s
‘Get a Life’ Conference
©2001
Prepared and written by Cara Banks
SFL Distribution of Work/Worktime Committee
Photos by David Durning and Beth Smillie
Front cover photo – Eyewire Stock Images
For additional copies of this report and further information contact:
The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour
#220 – 2445 13th Avenue
Regina, SK S4P 0W1
phone: (306) 525-0197
fax: (306) 525-8960
www.sfl.sk.ca
1
FAMILY FRIENDLY WORKPLACES:A STUDY OF SASKATCHEWAN COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS
backgroundT he Saskatchewan Federation of Labour’s Distri-
bution of Work/Worktime Committee wanted to
find out: Are unions negotiating provisions that
give workers more time away from work, i.e. shortened
workweeks, compressed schedules, longer vacations? Are
unions bargaining provisions that help workers balance
work and family, i.e. family and emergency leaves, child-
care programs, flextime, job sharing?
We analyzed 41 collective agreements from SFL-
affiliated unions, representing 65,198 workers in total.
Approximately 77 percent of all SFL-affiliated workers are
represented in the study.
The collective agreements cover 57,726 public sector
workers and 7, 472 private sector workers, from work-
places ranging between 12 and 12,000 employees.
Here’s what we found out.
On Worktime Issues
• Hours of Work: In the public sector, a high number
of full-time workers average under 40 hours per
week. In the private sector there is much more part-
time work, where the main concerns around hours of
work are most available hours, and the option to limit
one’s availability to particular days or hours. Full-time
work in the private sector tends to be 40 hours or
more per week. Some unions are bargaining shorter
workweeks with no loss of pay, which in some cases
has prevented layoffs.
• Compressed Scheduling/EDOs: In the public
sector, earned days off are common, extremely
popular and are considered a strike issue. In the
private sector, particularly in mining and mills, full-
time workers tend to be on a system of compressed
scheduling, also a very popular scheduling option
with workers.
• Overtime: Most unionized workers in Saskatchewan
have good rates of overtime, either time and a half or
double time. Most overtime is technically voluntary,
although several workplaces are shortstaffed so in
reality there is much more pressure to work it. The
reduction of overtime has in some cases prevented
layoffs and encouraged employers to rehire laid off
workers. Several workers have bargained the option
to take time off in lieu of overtime pay; however, in
the vast majority of cases workers aren’t actually able
to access the time off because employers complain
that they are too shortstaffed to replace the worker
who wants to take the time.
2
Where Unions Need Better Provisions
• Homeworking: Not one union in the study has
language around homeworking. While homeworking
or teleworking may not be a serious problem in
Saskatchewan currently, the overall trend of an
increase in homeworking across Canada suggests
that unions should be looking at this area. Home-
working can be very exploitative and isolating.
Homeworkers are also less likely to be active trade
unionists because of lack of access to the union.
• Maternity Supplementary Unemployment
Benefit (SUB) Plans: Only one-quarter of agreements
have maternity SUB plans. New legislation that gives
mothers and fathers up to a year off for maternity and
parental leave is a positive step, but many parents can’t
afford to take the time off without a salary top-up.
• Family Illness Leave: Only one-quarter of agree-
ments, mostly from the public sector, have paid time
off for family illness, ranging from one to five days per
year. Over half have to rely on compassionate leave,
pressing necessity clauses or the use of personal sick
leave credits to care for sick family members. Some
workers are in danger of running out of sick leave
credits and many workers have to pretend to be sick
themselves in order to get time off to care for a sick
family member. About one-fifth have no access at all
to time off to care for a sick family member.
• Childcare: Only the Canadian Union of Postal
Workers has negotiated an employer-paid childcare
fund, enabling them to work on several childcare
projects, including a program for children with
special needs. Projects are funded by the employer,
administered by the union, and driven by the needs
of members. Only two contracts have leave without
pay for the care and nurturing of preschool age
children. Only one contract has onsite childcare: not
surprisingly, it’s a daycare local.
• Elder Care: Only one agreement has elder care
provisions, yet it is the most commonly cited clause
negotiators believe they will be bargaining in the
near future, as many workers now have aging
parents. Elder care should not be treated identically
to childcare needs: many workers are finding that the
care of elderly relatives can be far more complicated
and demanding than childcare.
• Breastfeeding Provisions: Only nurses have
language around breastfeeding on the job, although
at least one other union has previously attempted to
SOME TIPS FOR UNIONS
ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR
COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
MORE FAMILY-FRIENDLY
• Group existing family-related
clauses together in your agree-
ment so that members can
easily locate their options.
A clearly organized agreement
will help members to access
the benefits they already have.
• Where applicable, make sure
to negotiate minimum labour
standards into your agreement.
We found several clauses in
Saskatchewan collective agree-
ments that provide less weeks
of leave than the Labour
Standards Act!
• Do a needs assessment of your
members on work-family
issues. Find out the key areas
where members are struggling
to balance work and family
and make those issues bargain-
ing priorities.
3
bargain it. With more women in the workforce, some
of whom want to return to work and continue to
breastfeed, this may become a more pressing issue in
the future.
Provisions that Few Workers are Accessing
• Flextime: Flextime is only found in less than one
quarter of agreements, and has only been bargained
for office workers. Flextime is very popular with those
who access it.
• Deferred Salary Plans: Only five contracts have this
option, all from the public sector. Very few workers
actually access this option, perhaps because it gives
time away from work, but does not solve day-to-day
conflicts with balancing work and family. It may also
be that many workers could not or would not live on
reduced salary for that long of a period or at all,
particularly if they have to pay some of their benefits
while they are on leave.
• Job Sharing: Only one-quarter of agreements,
almost exclusively from the public sector, have job
sharing provisions. Several unions expressed the need
to negotiate job sharing with safeguards to protect
full-time jobs.
Areas where Unions are Doing Well
• Bereavement or Compassionate Leave: All agree-
ments have better bereavement leave than labour
standards because they all provide paid, rather than
unpaid leave. The length of leave in Saskatchewan
agreements is consistent with labour standards
minimums. Many contracts also have a wider
definition of immediate family than the Labour
Standards Act.
• Vacation Leave: In most cases, workers earn more
vacation leave than the labour standards minimum,
and they tend to earn increased weeks of leave after
shorter lengths of service than labour standards
requires.
• Statutory Holidays: The vast majority of contracts
in the study have more statutory holidays than the
labour standards minimum. Statutory holidays are a
particularly strong area in the private sector.
The Challenges of Bargaining
We also explored how much of a priority balancing
work and family issues are at the negotiating table and
the sorts of challenges unions face in bargaining family-
friendly or reduced worktime language.
• Consider bargaining a family
sick leave credits system where
workers earn up to five days
per year to care for sick family
members or dependants.
Remind any resistant cowork-
ers and management that the
whole community benefits and
individuals are better able to
reach their full potential when
families are supported.
• Consider bargaining a personal
leave clause, which provides
five paid days of leave to be
used by workers for whatever
reasons they choose. Workers
can use the time to care for
families or to pursue commu-
nity or personal interests. Paid
personal days that everyone
can access will reduce tensions
between workers with few
family responsiblities and
workers with many dependent
care responsibilities.
4
• Are unions having success in bargaining balanc-
ing work and family issues? In some cases, yes, but
lack of money in the public sector has made it very
difficult to make gains. In the private sector, layoffs
and skeleton staffing are often more pressing prob-
lems. In many cases, other issues tend to supercede
balancing work and family issues, including job evalu-
ations, training, occupational health and safety, and
in the majority of cases, wages and benefit packages.
• Is there a strong degree of opposition from
management on work-family issues? In most
cases, yes, particularly where there will be increased
expense to the employer. Management tends to need
convincing that work-family programs will help the
company’s bottom line. Several unions indicated that
the gains they have made on worktime and work-
family issues have been hard fought.
• Is there a strong degree of opposition from the
membership on these issues? Opposition from
memberships on work-family issues may exist because
issues such as wages and layoffs are more urgent
priorities. Also, some workers may be used to the
more traditional model of the nuclear family, in which
wives and mothers are solely responsible for family
demands. They may resist negotiating some provi-
sions such as maternity leave, or leave to care for sick
children, viewing them as so-called “special rights”.
Electing women to bargaining committees in order to
educate coworkers and management alike about
work-family conflicts may help change attitudes.
In other cases, workers with few or no family
responsibilities may feel resentful towards workers
who receive paid time off for family obligations.
Divisions between workers can be prevented if
unions negotiate clauses in which all workers reap
the benefits, such as shorter workweeks, reduced
overtime, better vacation leave, and flextime.
• What sort of balancing work and family
proposals are anticipated in the near future?
Language on elder care and improved family leave
are the most commonly cited issues. Union members
want increased family leave days and several nego-
tiators indicate that they will try to bargain paid family
leave that does not come out of individuals’ sick leave
credits. A few unions will be negotiating increased
sick leave provisions and paternity leave. Increased
vacation time and improved pension plans were also
mentioned as upcoming priorities.
• Provisions are more likely to
survive at the bargaining table
if they have first become offi-
cial union policy. Sometimes
the push for progressive
balancing work and family
language comes from the
leadership in the union first,
at the level of the bargaining
committee, rather than from
the membership. Once the
language is in the contract,
members then experience
firsthand the benefits of these
provisions.
• Remember that just because
language exists in the con-
tract, it doesn’t mean that
workers are knowledgeable
about their rights, or that the
employer is applying the
language fairly. Be vigilant
about supporting workers who
access work-family programs
and policies.
5
RESOURCES
Five workshops, led by union
activists, met throughout the
conference on the following
topics:
• The Shorter Workweek;
• Reduced/Restricted Overtime;
• Alternate Working Arrange-
ments;
• Family Leave and Elder Care;
and
• Parental Leave and Childcare.
Change strategies from each
workshop are printed in the side-
bars of this report, including how
to organize within workplaces
and unions, and how to influence
government policy and legisla-
tion.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Bruce O’Hara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Penni Richmond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Mike Verdiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Julie White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Anders Hayden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
I
6
INTRODUCTION
W orkers and their families are undergoing
a great deal of strain in today’s economy.
Families are under increased economic
pressure as average family incomes decline, and they are
also experiencing increased time pressures. More women
are entering the workforce for greater periods of time,
and as the population ages, women in particular have
increased elder care responsibilities. Many workplaces
have downsized, leaving remaining employees to work
longer and harder. Computerization and globalization of
the economy are putting greater pressure on workers to
be available anywhere, anytime.
In 1998, the Saskatchewan government’s Public Task
Force on Balancing Work and Family explored how
families are faring in regards to work-family overload.
It found that many Saskatchewan workers are under-
going high levels of work-family conflict. Family-friendly
programs and policies both at work and within their
communities are urgently required. At the same time, the
provincial government also commissioned a survey study
of Saskatchewan workplaces to examine work-family
balance, work climate, work attitudes, and outcomes and
health of workers. The survey found that workers have
high dependent care responsibilities, and heavy work
demands, but few workplace and community supports to
deal with these demands. These pressures are resulting in
high stress levels and negative health implications for
workers. The Task Force’s final report “Towards More Work-
Family Balance in Saskatchewan” and the final report of
the survey, “Work-Life Balance in Saskatchewan: Realities
and Challenges”, are available from the Department of
Labour, Work and Family Unit.
In 2000, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour’s
Distribution of Work/Worktime Committee and the SFL’s
Balancing Work and Family Co-ordinator began their
“Next Steps Towards Balancing Work and Family” initia-
tive. This initiative, sponsored by the Status of Women,
Women’s Program, was designed to assess how well
SHORTER WORKWEEK
How can we organize for
a shorter workweek?
• First do research, then educate
coworkers, bargaining commit-
tee, and employer.
• Distribute information and
statistics supporting the
benefits in a persistent,
comprehensive strategy.
• Use personal contact by stew-
ards to champion the cause.
• Use newsletters and any other
communications tools to reach
people.
• Emphasize the creation of jobs
in communities, and among
young people.
• Promote the health and family
benefits of shorter workweek.
• Use statistics and success
stories from other companies
and countries.
• Start with a pilot project to
show the benefits.
7
Saskatchewan unions are doing in the areas of reduced
worktime and balancing work and family policies. The
resulting research, completed in early 2001, was com-
piled into a report titled Family Friendly Workplaces:
A Study of Saskatchewan Collective Agreements.
This report highlights that while some unions have
bargained innovative and progressive language around
balancing work and family in certain areas, there is a long
way to go in providing union members with choices and
flexibility in worktime and family-friendly provisions. (See
pages 1-4 of this report for more information.)
The ‘Get a Life’ conference was organized as the
second phase of the SFL’s “Next Steps” initiative to bring
together union members interested in bargaining and
lobbying for shorter worktime and family-friendly pro-
• Unions should submit the
following resolution to the
next SFL convention:
*Note: It has more impact
if many locals submit a
resolution!
Whereas full time workers
are working long hours with
increasing workloads and;
Whereas full time workers find
balancing work and family
responsibilities an ever in-
creasing hardship and;
Whereas employers believe
it is up to employees to find
solutions to work and family
conflicts and;
Whereas a shorter workweek
increases productivity,
decreases absenteeism and
creates more employment
opportunities for the un-
employed;
grams in their workplaces. Several workers from manage-
ment and government positions expressed interest in
attending the conference and participation was thus
opened up to non-affiliates. All participants received a
copy of Family-Friendly Workplaces as a reference
guide to the key issues and to provide participants with
sample contract language. Copies of this document
are available from the SFL office. Workshops allowed
participants to come together to share experiences,
struggles, solutions, and ideas.
Expert guest speakers also spoke on the topics of
shorter working time, work-family balance, restricted
overtime, and the feminist case for balancing work and
family. Excerpts from five of the conference’s guest
speakers follow.
8
BRUCE O’HARA
Bruce is the author of “Put Work in its Place: The
Complete Guide to the Flexible Workplace”
(1988), a 250-page self-help guide for indivi-
duals, and “Working Harder Isn’t Working” (1993), on the
need to move to a 32-hour workweek standard.
Who Pays for the Shorter Workweek
It’s a rule of thumb in Europe that a third of any work-
time reduction will be offset by higher productivity. It’s
also becoming a rule of thumb that reduced outlays for
unemployment-related costs will save government the
equivalent of one-third of the wage costs of any work
time reduction. And finally, in Europe, shorter workweeks
have been pursued primarily as a quality of life issue.
Workers have usually been willing to chip in about a third
of the cost of working less.
So when, for example, a company goes from a 35 to
a 32-hour workweek, workers will get paid for 34 hours,
the government will kick in the equivalent of an hour’s
wages in the form of payroll tax reductions, and the
employer recoups the remaining hour through higher
productivity.
Structuring the Shorter Workweek
Employers complain that overhead costs per work-
station go up if you shorten the workweek and leave
plant and equipment idle more of the time. On the other
hand, if making the standard workweek shorter makes
the weekend shift long enough to provide a liveable
income, and a weekend shift is hired, then shorter work-
weeks can lead to plant and equipment being utilized
more fully. Shorter workweeks can either reduce or
increase the hours of service a business is able to offer,
depending on whether a single or multi-shift model is
used.
In capital-intensive industries, a work time reduction
on a single shift model can increase overhead costs by
an amount equivalent to one half of the extra wage costs
of the work-time reduction. On the other hand, shorter
workweeks on a multi-shift model save an equally large
amount.
Who’s More Competitive?
Let’s do a side by side comparison between the
nation with the longest work hours in the OECD, the
nation with the shortest work hours in the OECD, and
Canada. The nation with the longest work hours in the
Therefore be it resolved that
the Saskatchewan Federation of
Labour lobby the Saskatchewan
government and our MLAs to
implement a public policy and
legislation on a 32-hour work-
week without a reduction in
pay;
And be it further resolved that
all affiliates and non-affiliates
work towards one common goal
of negotiating a 32-hour work-
week without a reduction in
pay for all working people;
And be it finally resolved
that the Saskatchewan
Federation of Labour form a
committee to launch an imme-
diate campaign to make the
public aware of the benefits of
a 32-hour workweek.
9
United States Canada Holland
Average Vacation Time 2.5 weeks 3 weeks 5 weeks
Average Work Year 1950 hours 1750 hours 1350 hours
Minimum Wage Modest/ none Mid-range High
Unpaid overtime Massive Mid-range Low
Child Poverty Rate 21% 15% 7%
Unemployment Rate 4.1% 6.6% 3.0%
Trade Position $1 billion deficit/day Trade Surplus Trade Surplus
industrial world is not Japan, but the United States. The
nation with the shortest work hours is Holland. Let’s see
how they compare (see table below).
Holland, a nation where people work the equivalent
of a day a week less than we do, is a major winner in
global trade. And while I’ve chosen Holland, we could as
easily have selected Belgium, Denmark or Norway. They
all have unemployment rates of less than five percent,
trade surpluses, and work far less than we do.
How can we convince the
government to improve labour
standards around a shorter
workweek?
• Work with the employer to
lobby the federal government
to lower/level payroll taxes.
• Petitions, letters, e-mail cam-
paigns, and rallies to educate
ourselves, the public business,
and government.
• Stress the increase in jobs, the
possibilities for youth employ-
ment, and a more productive
workforce.
• Get bureaucrats on side.
• Form a coalition of business
groups, non-profit organiza-
tions, and family interest
groups.
• Have an outside agency do a
study of existing pilots and
publicize the results.
10
Changing the Payroll Reward Structure
Benefit costs typically make up between one quarter
and one third of payroll costs in Canada. The way
Canada now structures benefits, most benefit costs stop
at forty hours per week. When those costs do not
increase beyond 40 hours, the net costs to employers of
overtime — even paying time and a half — is insignifi-
cant. On the other hand, because some benefit costs —
dental plan premiums, for example — don’t decrease
when work time is shortened, shorter workweeks
increase the net cost-per-hour of staff time, providing a
strong disincentive to shorter work times. Continental
Europe has structured its payroll tax the other way
around, so as to penalise overwork and reward shorter
work times.
1. Modify EIC, CPP, and Worker’s Compensation
Contributions
France has now structured its payroll taxes to have
a low rate on the first 32 hours, and a very high rate
thereafter. Employees on a four-day week are
cheaper. Employees on a six-day are expensive. We
could do the same in Canada with CPP and EIC.
If the Federal Government made Employment
Insurance contribution rates zero on the first $8,000
of income per year, and removed ceilings on con-
tributory income at the same time, the EI program
PARENTAL LEAVE
AND CHILDCARE
How can we organize for better
parental leave and childcare?
• Start a work/family committee
at worksite, preferably a union/
management committee.
• Educate coworkers on their
existing rights and enforce
what we’ve got.
• Work to change the culture to
accept the needs of children so
workers aren’t shunned if they
access leave.
• Create a supportive work envir-
onment with some flexible
work arrangements for parents.
• Combat outdated attitudes like
that of ‘A woman’s place is in
the home’ and the male bread-
winner stereotype.
• Educate about the under-
valuing of women’s work
(caregiving) in home and
community.
DIL
BER
T re
pri
nt e
d b
y p
erm
issi
on
of
Un
it ed
Fea
t ur e
Syn
dic
ate,
Inc.
11
would take in about the same amount of money as it
does now, and EI benefits could remain unchanged.
Structuring EIC in this way would make overtime
more expensive and lower the costs associated with
working less. Canada Pension Plan and Workers’
Compensation contributions could be restructured in
the same way.
2. Fund Medicare Differently
Most healthcare benefits are fixed costs: costed on a
per-hour basis, they rise when employees work less,
and fall when employees put in overtime. Much of
Europe funds its healthcare system as a percentage of
total payroll costs, so as to stop Medicare premiums
from discouraging part-time work.
3. Fund Dental and Pharmacare Plans Differently
Most of Europe funds their dental and pharmacare
plans publicly, so they’re also not a fixed part of an
employee’s benefit package.
4. Reward Workers and Employers Who Share
the Work
France and Italy are both establishing incentive
programs whereby employers and employees who
voluntarily move to a 32-hour workweek are given
big reductions in their payroll taxes.
Belgium now has a program that reduces an
employer’s social security contributions by $6500 for
each new job created by a reduction in the length
of the standard workweek, expanded part-time use,
phased retirement, or leaves of absence. While that
sounds like a large amount of money, governments
typically save twice that amount of money when they
put an unemployed person back to work.
The job-creation potential of implementing
a new reward structure for payroll costs could
create a quarter million new hires in Canada.
• Do a needs assessment of
membership around childcare
issues and share the results
with the employer.
• Make work and family a bar-
gaining priority, develop a
union checklist for work and
family and put an end to
male-dominated bargaining
committees.
• Negotiate a letter of under-
standing/agreement on
maternity/parental benefits
to allow at least one year with
guarantee of returning to
equivalent job and all the same
rights and benefits. Convince
the employer that it’s easier to
find a replacement for a year’s
absence than for just a few
months.
• Negotiate a better top-up for
maternity or paternity leave.
• Create an employer reward
incentive program.
12
• Create a Family-friendly
Workplace decal.
• Do a report card for employers
— give a poopy diaper award
to the worst!
• Devise and post good contract
language on SFL website.
• Create SFL and/or union news-
letters on work and family.
How can we convince the
government to improve
parental leave and childcare?
• Pressure the provincial govern-
ment and the federal govern-
ment for a childcare program
that:
– is high-quality and afford-
able; i.e. publicly funded
– meets the needs of: shift-
workers; rural families;
special needs cases
– meets provincial standards
for quality child care
– utilizes workplaces, schools
and other public spaces
Support Family Life
The primary motivation behind continental Europe’s
move towards shorter work times has not been job
creation: that was a bonus. Their main concerns have
been quality of life, and in particular the protection of
family life. And there’s a whole slew of social indicators
where Europe is looking much healthier than North
America as a place to raise kids. Whether we’re talking
about child suicide, child crime, child violence, eating
disorders among children, school performance, psychi-
atric admissions to hospitals for teens, or rates of family
breakdown: Europe is doing better than we are and the
gap is widening.
1. Rights for Part-time Workers
In Holland, part-time workers must be given the same
hourly rate of pay as full time workers, at least a pro-
rated share of benefits, union membership where
there’s a union, and eligibility for the pension plan.
Because there’s no exploitation attached to part-time
work, unions are actively supportive of part-time posi-
tions. The result is that 38 percent of the Dutch work-
force works part-time, by choice. The voluntary move
to part-time work is the biggest single reason why Hol-
land’s unemployment rate has fallen to three percent.
2. Financial Support for Parenting Time
In Sweden, every parent is entitled to choose to work
three-quarters time until their youngest child is eight
years old. If they do so, they are partially compen-
sated for lost earnings.
3. Promotion of Family-Friendly Work Schedules
In Europe, governments have taken a leadership role
in promoting family-friendly work schedules, and in
providing information and resources about how alter-
native work schedules can be made most effective.
4. Right to Work Less Legislation
Holland is currently putting in place an employment
standards provision that requires employers to justify
to an arbitration board any time they refuse an
employee’s request for less than full-time work.
Germany requires that employers make a six-hour
workday option available to all parents of young
children.
5. Expanded Family Leave Provisions
In Denmark, taking childcare and parental leave
together, each family has the right to 136 weeks of
leave. In Sweden, parental leave provisions entitle
both parents to full-time leave from work until their
child is 18 months old.
13
PENNI RICHMONDWomen’s and Human Rights Department, Canadian Labour Congress
Women’s Work
Numerous recent studies show that women
still continue to be responsible for the vast
majority of unpaid work, caring for children, for aging
parents, sick family members and for households. These
same studies report that this work is increasing with
deregulation and cuts to government services and social
programs — the downloading of previously paid, public
sector (women’s) work into the home. While individual
men have made some changes in the traditional house-
hold division of labour, women still are more implicated in
the conflicts between work and family. Women take more
leave for family responsibility, far more sick leave (there’s
been a dramatic jump in the past few years) and work
more hours at home. Much of household maintenance is
invisible: the scheduling and planning which is often a
constant list in women’s heads likely isn’t measured in the
hours attributed to unpaid work in the home.
It takes twice the number of paid hours to maintain
a household as it did twenty years ago. This is a devas-
tating reality for us all. It’s a devastating reality for the
significant proportion of women who work part-time
because they can’t find full-time work or for the heads of
single families who have to count on one wage. Or for
childcare workers who reflect perhaps most vividly the
relationship between the value assigned to women’s
unpaid, caring work and women’s paid work with
children. Childcare workers are at the bottom of the
wage heap.
It’s important we also remember that families are
increasingly diverse. Mom and Dad with a couple of kids is
no longer the majority family formation: there are more
blended families, more same sex families, many with
children, and dramatically more single parent led families,
the majority of whom are led by women. All families’ needs
must be taken into account in balancing work and family.
In 1997 the CLC completed our “Women and Work”
study, which examined the impact of economic restruc-
turing on women’s work and on women’s lives. The core
of the project consisted of discussions with hundreds of
women across the country, unionized and non-unionized
women, employed and unemployed, immigrant, visible
minority and aboriginal women, women with disabilities,
young women and older women. The report shows that
systemic gender discrimination in the workplace is not
disappearing. Apart from a minority of white professional
women, women are losing ground as government and
corporate restructuring barrels along.
• Lobby provincial government
to make top-up of EI manda-
tory for maternity/paternity
leave.
• Lobby provincial government
and school boards for before
and after school and days off
program.
• Form a government committee
with union representation to
review labour standards,
improve family leave (five
days paid, five days unpaid);
increase minimum wage;
improve childcare subsidies.
• Work in coalition with existing
child care centres.
DID YOU KNOW? When
pregnant, you can take a
health-related leave of absence
(using your sick leave credits)
with a doctor’s note. You don’t
need to have any special
complications or illness.
14
“Women and Work” documented the increased
precariousness of women’s jobs that has come with the
shift to temporary, contract and involuntary part-time
work, particularly among clericals and sales and service
workers in the private sector. We also documented, in
the context of neo-liberal policies, the loss of secure and
well-paid jobs for women particularly in public services
and in manufacturing.
Where women’s employment is expanding most
rapidly is in the private service sector of the economy
(doing “women’s work”), for workers in small firms, and
in precarious jobs such as contract and casual work.
More women are now doing “homework” because of
the lack of childcare, many under obscene conditions.
It is precisely these areas where we find the most vulner-
able women — visibility minority and aboriginal women
— where they’re employed at all — and where rates of
unionization are very low.
Women’s Gains
Collective bargaining is obviously central to many
of the gains unionized women have made over the past
thirty years. What are some of these gains? Maternity and
parental leaves with wage-top up; paid family responsi-
bility leaves; breast-feeding provisions; harassment clauses
— nothing can destroy your health and quality of life like
unchecked or unresolved harassment; measures to
ensure women who are experiencing violence within
their home are not disciplined for absenteeism and have
access to counselling; pensions and medical benefits;
paid sick leave; benefits for part-time workers. And in a
couple of cases significant funds for child care. The
CUPW, for example, has bargained a major fund, paid for
by the employer and controlled by the union, to develop
innovative, community- based childcare programs.
And same-sex spousal benefits — unions did that.
We grieved, we went before the courts, including the
Supreme Court — and were instrumental in winning a
major victory.
There’s an additional side to collective bargaining,
too. In some cases, the gains made by unions through
collective bargaining and strikes, as in the case with
winning paid maternity leave by CUPW and then PSAC
in ‘81, has exerted pressure on governments to improve
labour standards. This is important to ensure broad
coverage of labour standards to the majority of workers
who are not members of unions.
For more information, contact
the SFL at (306) 525-0197 or
REDUCED/RESTRICTED
OVERTIME
How can we organize around
reducing/restricting overtime?
• Work to change the cultural
mindset (i.e. you don’t need
overtime). Humanize the issue
by talking about how families
lose out.
• Get the community behind it.
Talk to labour councils, city or
town councils, schools (Grade
11-12), chambers of commerce,
small business owners, social
groups, newspapers, radio.
• Talk about reducing overtime
on the shopfloor and in the
coffee room; use stewards to
get conversations going.
15
Offloading Services
onto the Backs of Women
We know that governments are moving away — and
in many instances very, very quickly — from high stand-
ards in legislation and social spending. The slash and
burn policies and shutting down of programs have
caused enormous suffering and upheaval. In labour’s
ongoing fight for maintaining and improving our social
programs we must focus on the responsibility of govern-
ments to use our collective wealth (taxes) to cover social
infrastructure costs — childcare, healthcare, social
housing, publicly funded elder care, education, all costs
that most workers and employers individually cannot
afford.
There are broader structural, societal reasons for the
continuing unequal division of caring and household
maintenance within many families — that division which
results in a double load for women working outside
the home. Since the early ’80s, neo-liberal economic
restructuring and changing government policies have
created a labour market where, for many workers, paid
employment is increasingly incompatible with other
responsibilities. At the same time, deregulation and cuts
to government services and social programs, and
increased reliance on the tax system (individual solutions
rather than collective) have imposed increased responsi-
bilities on individuals and their families. Furthermore,
many government cuts have been justified on the
• Get a clear understanding of
what constitutes an emergency
and when overtime is neces-
sary.
• Find out where overtime is
worked, how much is worked,
and the cost to the employer
• Popularize the notion of ‘Just
say no’.
• Apply the language already in
the collective agreement —
interpret what the language
really means.
• Design a questionnaire of
members, with their families
involved, on overtime.
• Create bulletins and informa-
tion on attrition that has
happened over the last several
years.
• Share the questionnaire and
attrition information with the
union executive and the
membership at all local and
annual meetings.
DIL
BER
T re
pri
nt e
d b
y p
erm
issi
on
of
Un
it ed
Fea
t ure
Syn
dic
ate,
Inc.
16
grounds that such work is more appropriately done in
communities or in households by unpaid volunteer
labour.
Current economic policies are predicated on the
assumption that women’s unpaid labour can stretch to
cope with the impact of economic restructuring. As
researcher Diane Elson puts it, “In the context of econo-
mic crisis and structural adjustment, women are particu-
larly valued for their ability to devise and implement
survival strategies for their families, using their unpaid
labour to absorb adverse effects of structural adjustment
policies.” Think of the restructuring within the healthcare
system, of the unbelievable intensification of work for
some women, of the loss of jobs for others. Think of the
impact within families of increased loads related to home
care of the sick and the elderly, with negligible social
insurance support.
And as Meg Luxton, a leading sociologist on work/
family matters says, “They are also predicated on the
assumption that precarious employment with its low
pay, unpredictable and irregular hours, and long-term
insecurity, can become increasingly the norm without a
significant increase in social costs. The evidence suggests
otherwise.” The less control and flexibility people have in
their paid workplace, the more they experience conflict
between work and family which is then associated with
negative consequences such as decreased productivity
and poor health. In this context, work organization and
pay, and intentional social, economic policy stack the
deck, making it difficult to step back and figure out equal
roles in the home. Of course, we have to consider
entrenched notions about who does what and think
about our individual reluctance to address inequalities —
including responsibilities of children. We have the right
to demand more systemic support.
• Organize educationals on
overtime union-wide, including
regional and national labour
meetings and conferences.
• Prepare and put forward over-
time resolutions to conven-
tions demanding regional and
national research initiatives on
the benefits of restricted
overtime.
• Attend and set up balancing
work and family conferences.
• Sell it to the membership by
talking about job creation.
• Negotiate: voluntary overtime
instead of scheduled overtime
as first step; restrictions on
overtime; tougher penalties for
overtime; payment of pensions
and holiday pay on overtime
wages; a living wage; the con-
version of part-time positions
to full-time after so many
hours.
17
MIKE VERDIELPresident CEP local 76, a paper mill in Powell River, BC
• Pressure company to fill vacant
positions — mandatory staff
replacement, with full-time/
part-time complement if
necessary.
• Charge more dues when over-
time is worked.
• Show the employer that
overtime is not cheaper and
that reduced overtime is a
recruitment and retention
of employees issue.
• Make employers feel guilty
about lost family time and
about their role in job creation
for the community’s sake.
How can we convince
government to reduce/
restrict overtime?
• Lobby for improved employ-
ment standards: maximum
60 hours of voluntary overtime
in a year (or other restric-
tions); no mandatory overtime;
increased time between shifts;
In 1989, when I took over as President of our local,
we had almost 1450 members in one location. Last
month, we only collected dues from 598 people —
in just over 10 years. Back in the early ’90s we said we
have to look ahead to the future because we could see
the effects of modernization shrinking our workforce.
We did the usual things over the last ten years: we
had retirement packages; we got the company to kick
in more money; we did severance packages. But the
problem was that the whole time, we were still losing
jobs in the community. We were not employing the
young people.
Overtime Reduction
In 1992, we redid our bylaws. As an Executive we
started by charging our local dues on all hours worked:
if you want to work 20 hours overtime, you pay twenty
hours more in dues. So that the membership who
worked only 40 hours a week weren’t paying the penal-
ties for people who were working more. Dues are paid
on a percentage basis: if you worked one hour, you paid
a percentage of that; if you worked 60 hours you paid a
percentage of that.
In 1994, we looked at vacations. I think we took a
step backwards in our industry when we agreed to a
carry over of vacation of up to three weeks. These days
could be carried over to use towards your retirement. In
our mill at that time, we had about 1000 employees. So
if each one of my members took even one week of the
three and carried it over, that’s a thousand weeks of
vacation. Think how many full-time people you’d be
employing if those people were taking their time off. By
restricting the vacation and saying, “No you are required
to take all of your vacation in the year that you earn it” —
that’s created employment.
We also negotiated how a week of vacation is defined.
What is a week of vacation? Is it five days of work, is it
Sunday to Saturday, or is it Monday to Sunday? The com-
pany was arguing that a week for day workers was five
days — Monday to Friday. Therefore you could work over-
time on Sunday and you could work overtime on Saturday
because it was not in your vacation. We took the position
that it says in our contract that you cannot earn money
while you’re collecting vacation. We took the position that
a week of vacation is exactly that — seven days.
We also negotiated that workers on vacation were
not accessible, except in an emergency. We identified
what was an emergency and if it’s an emergency they
18
have to contact the union president or his designate to
allow the overtime.
Most of the tour workers I represent are on 12-hour
shift schedules, which means they work two days, two
nights, four off. In that situation the company argued that
a vacation week was four days, so we had people work-
ing their four days before, taking four days vacation, and
working their four days after in the mill. We negotiated
that a week’s vacation for tour workers was eight days.
Starting on your first day shift right through until your
next first day shift, you could not work. That created more
employment. And if they came in and worked, even in
an emergency, even for just one or two hours, they had
to take another day off without pay, because they
worked during their vacation period. So it wasn’t just a
penalty to the employer. It was a penalty to the people
who were coming in on their vacation.
We’ve taken a position all along and it’s still
our position that the employer has to have enough
people in the mill to give us our contractual time
off. We’ve taken the position that we’ve got an agree-
ment that says you provide five floaters. We’re saying to
the employer that you already know that you have this
liability. We say it’s your liability, so you’ve got to have
enough people to give us what we’ve bargained without
working the overtime. It’s a hard push but you’ve got to
keep focusing back to, “Why did we agree to another
week’s vacation if you don’t hire anybody?”
So that’s where a lot of focus can be put — into
existing agreements. I don’t think we have to reinvent the
wheel on some of the stuff that we have in our collective
agreements. It’s about how we want to get it interpreted.
For too long, we’ve been listening to what the employer’s
position is on our collective agreement, instead of saying
this is our position on the collective agreement. If you
don’t get it the first round of bargaining, then you push
it at the second round of bargaining.
Job Creation
In 1997 bargaining, we gave notice to our employer
about our 12-hour shift agreement, which is a 42-hour
average. I tell you it was not an easy thing to do, to give
notice to cancel 12-hour shifts and go to a 40-hour week
from the 42. We gave that in April of ‘97. Then the com-
pany gave us notice of layoff of a number of employees
for May of ‘97. We put together a bulletin on overtime
and we held special meetings with our membership. It
states:
32-hour workweek; four weeks
minimum vacation; family
leave provisions.
• Lobby for occupational health
and safety standards re: exces-
sive hours, workload and stress.
• Point out that with more
people working, the tax base
grows.
• Seek government assistance to
convince employers to main-
tain good paying jobs in small
communities.
ALTERNATIVE WORKING
ARRANGEMENTS
How can we organize for job
sharing and flextime programs?
Job Sharing
• Explain that job sharing is
important for certain workers:
those who need flexibility
when they have small children/
dependants; those continuing
their education or exploring
19
“Where overtime is worked, when employees who can
do work or can be trained to do the work are on lay-
off and available, overtime worked in these circum-
stances is contrary to the collective agreement.”
We held three special membership meetings and we
moved forward with our interpretation of what the collec-
tive agreement meant. If you don’t have the commitment
in the leadership of the individual locals, then you are
wasting your time trying to move something forward
because it’s the individual leadership that’s got the power
to keep putting things in the forefront.
We found that when we did our survey in BC on
working time, that when we got past the leadership, the
membership was in favour of creating jobs and less over-
time. If it created a job or saved a job, they were willing
to give up their overtime. You’ve got to be able to show
that somebody is gaining by it, especially in communities.
Our overtime dropped in our mill from seven per cent
to one per cent and it stayed there for a year and a half.
In that time, we had a number of members who worked
overtime that we say contradicted the collective agree-
ment. They were sent warning letters. In November of
1997, our first member was charged under the CEP
Constitution with wilfully violating the adopted standards
as to wages, hours of work, benefits and working
conditions and he was fined.
When we bargained the new 40-hour average, it
created 22 full time jobs, by just going from 42 to 40.
We did it at a time that we were also going to get a
wage increase, so when it actually came to those people
going from 42 to 40, their pay cheques didn’t really
change. And they saw a new person in their department
that wasn’t there before we had the contract.
Copies of the CBC documentary on Powell
River’s Overtime Reduction are available on loan
from the SFL office (306) 525-0197.
other work; those approaching
retirement.
• Ask workers with informal
arrangements to formalize
them to provide models for
others.
• Where there is already
language, encourage support
of the job sharers. Make sure
the workload is shared evenly
and that it isn’t two full-time
jobs rolled into one.
• Popularize the notion that
there is more to life than work.
• Remind workers that it is a
choice, not an enforcement.
• Bargain language, making sure
to maintain full-time positions.
Flextime
• Talk about how families ben-
efit. In tough times, there may
be more families living together
with dependants who need
care.
20
JULIE WHITE
would be political suicide to propose taking it away.
Well, it was a shock for many, but 73% of our mem-
bers in BC mills said take it away and create jobs.
There is a stereotype that every worker is working
every hour of overtime available, but it is a stereo-
type. The real story is more mixed. We found a
pattern of a small minority (5-15%) who work all the
overtime they can, but there is a similar proportion
who do not work any overtime, while the majority
are spread through the middle working some and
refusing some. I’d advise having a closer look at who
really works overtime and why. We also found that
the majority did not report that they worked overtime
because they needed it, but for extras and to obtain
banked time away from work.
• Is overtime cheaper than hiring more workers?
It is commonly stated that employers use overtime to
save money, to avoid paying the benefit package. We
found that employers would save money by reducing
overtime and hiring new workers. We had a sophis-
ticated analysis of payroll costs by an economist,
including everything from benefits and payroll taxes
down to training and tools. To put it simply, in BC
pulp and paper mills, overtime costs double the
• Point out that self-scheduling
offers more control over our
lives.
• To prevent backlash and
stigma, encourage dialogue
between workers not inter-
ested in these benefits and
those with lots of family
responsibilities who could
benefit from them.
• Establish balancing work and
family labour/management
committee to work on issues.
Get commitment from manage-
ment to implement commit-
tee’s recommendations.
• Create information kits or
pamphlets that explain these
arrangements. Give presenta-
tions at union meetings and
hold lunch ’n’ learns.
• Form strategy committees/
women’s committees to push
the issue with leadership.
Independent researcher and author, Julie has re-
searched and written two reports on hours of work
for CEP. “More Jobs More Fun”, highlights four case
studies where CEP members had already negotiated
shorter hours, and “Working Less for More Jobs”, is a study
of hours and overtime in the BC pulp and paper industry.
What We’ve Learned in CEP – Overtime
Our BC study on overtime and job creation produced
three controversial results that questioned traditional
wisdom on overtime.
• Is overtime caused by emergency situations?
Contrary to common understanding, overtime is
not mainly the result of emergency situations. Most
overtime is used for covering time off, including
vacations, statutory holidays, sickness and floaters
(individual days off during the year). Downsizing has
reduced the number of workers to the point where
there are not enough workers to cover for negotiated
time off.
• Are workers willing to reduce overtime?
This is a hot issue and we heard all about how you
can’t touch overtime, because our members want the
money, how members fight over overtime and that it
21
straight time rate (this includes time and a half pay,
the cost of a banked overtime arrangement, call in
and meal tickets). What does it cost to hire a new
worker? Well it costs the straight time rate and some-
thing less than another 50% to cover all the benefits
– in other words a little less than time and a half. In
BC pulp and paper mills, where overtime is costing
double time, employers would save $11 million by
cutting overtime in half and replacing all those hours
with full-time workers. In a situation where it is cost-
ing employers time and a half for overtime, replacing
overtime with new workers would be a no-cost
proposition.
What We’ve Learned in CEP – Shorter Hours
• Workers on shorter hours love it.
In interviews with workers already on shorter hours,
I can’t tell you how many times they’ve said they’d
walk if their time off was threatened, or be on strike
in a moment over any attempt to return to longer
hours.
In Sarnia in southern Ontario, there are a number
of petro-chemical plants on 37 1/3 hours per week,
including a rubber plant. The day workers at these
plants work 40 hours most weeks, but take a Friday
off work every three weeks to being their average
down to 37 1/3. This gives them a long weekend
• Encourage women to join
bargaining committees and
become shop stewards.
• Get sample contract language
from SFL, CEP, SaskTel, Depart-
ment of Labour, websites.
• Suggest trial periods, pilot
projects with review processes;
share results of work/family
surveys to suggest the changes
needed; use success stories
from other countries, unions.
• Point out that these arrange-
ments mean less use of sick
time and higher retention.
• Negotiate general clause in
agreement that states it is
a family-friendly workplace.
• Inter-union sharing of infor-
mation — so every union isn’t
‘reinventing the wheel’.
• Bring resolutions on these
issues to conventions.
DIL
BER
T re
pri
nt e
d b
y p
erm
issi
on
of
Un
it ed
Fea
t ure
Syn
dic
ate,
Inc.
22
and sometimes a four day weekend when combined
with a statutory holiday. These Fridays are called
Happy Fridays and are marked on the calendars with
happy faces. These days off have even spread to the
non-union plant and to the public sector in town.
Because there are so many workers in the community
with Fridays off, community events like picnics and
tournaments are organised on those days and every-
one in Sarnia knows about Happy Fridays.
• Schedules are critical.
General talk of reduced hours of work is an abstrac-
tion. If it’s just expressed as more time off with a
reduction in pay that’s one thing. But if it makes a
difference to members, gives them something they
want, that becomes important. Often it’s whole
blocks of time away from work, but sometimes, and
especially for shiftworkers, shorter hours offers an
improved schedule.
For example, proposing a move from 40 or 42
hours to 37 1/3 hours a week could mean a long
weekend every third week for day workers. Some of
our shift workers work four 12 hour shifts followed by
four off, which averages to 42 hours a week. Moving
to 37 1/3 may only look attractive once it’s clear that
it may mean working only three shifts instead of four
in a row, that it can mean every ninth week off work
entirely, that it can mean more weekends at home.
CEP Resolution G-12
Hours of Work
WHEREAS the CEP and the broader union movement
have struggled for shorter hours of work, both to create
employment and for the well-being of workers; and
WHEREAS the CEP has stressed the importance of the
reduction of working time at the 1994 Convention in the
• SFL worktime committee
should develop a package of
resources and do presentations
at union meetings.
• Have a Balancing Work and
Family Day of Awareness.
• Lobby U of S Labour program
to develop a course on work-
time issues.
How can we convince govern-
ments to improve labour
standards around flextime
and job sharing issues?
• Improve labour standards —
increase minimum wage (70%
of average industrial wage);
legislate pay equity so more
women can access these
options; increase in vacation
weeks; make Family Day a
statutory holiday (third
Monday in February); make
Easter Monday a statutory
holiday.
23
policy documents entitled “Reduction of Working Time”
and “Working Families”; and
WHEREAS the polarization of hours has lead to
increased inequality between workers with long hours
and those who have too few hours of work; and
WHEREAS hours of work, shift work and scheduling
are issues of importance to CEP members and have been
the subject of negotiations in all sectors of the union; and
WHEREAS overtime has increased while the number
of jobs has declined in many CEP industries; and
WHEREAS longer hours of work is part of a strategy
by CEP employers, combined with more part-time work
and contracting out, to decrease regular full-time work
in favour of a flexible work force; and
WHEREAS the CEP has been at the forefront in
negotiating shorter hours of work and has carried out
groundbreaking research in this area;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the CEP reaffirms
its commitment to making reduced hours of work a union
priority, both for the welfare of workers and to create
employment; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT as a priority of the
union, hours of work issues will be incorporated into
the on-going publications, education, conferences
and other activities of the union; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the union will con-
tinue its program of research, expanding it to include all
areas where our members work; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the union will under-
take to further educate and inform our members about
questions related to hours of work, including a national
conference on hours of work, shift work, scheduling and
overtime; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the union will commit
resources and a budget for research, publications,
campaigns, education, conferences and negotiations on
the issue; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the union will estab-
lish hours of work committees in various areas and/or
regions as appropriate in order to further these goals; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the union will bring
reduced overtime and shorter hours of work to the
bargaining table with employers as appropriate in each
sector, with the objective of increasing the number of
regular full time jobs; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED THAT the union will lobby
the provincial and federal governments to adopt legisla-
tion to reduce overtime and standard weekly hours.
• Push for an assessment of
community needs with com-
mitment to initiate solutions
based on results.
• Public education campaign re:
benefits to family, community
and workplace.
• Assist families who want to
study budget implications of
working less by developing an
information package (pension,
taxation implications).
• Fight for universal, subsidized
quality childcare.
• Government funding for
employers that establish
work family programs.
• Institute provincial pharma-
care and dental plan.
• Include worktime issues in
schools’ curriculum.
24
ANDERS HAYDENFAMILY LEAVE AND ELDER CARE
How can we organize for better
family leave and elder care?
• Provide statistics of population
demographics for the future.
• Research what employees’
elder care responsibilities are,
and what the possibilities in
the community are for care.
• Demonstrate the costs of this
care being provided by the
general public through taxes
and social programs.
• Discuss the stresses of not
being able to provide necessary
elder care and the strain on
families’ well-being.
• Invite elders to come in and
discuss their day to day diffi-
culties in coping and how
assistance will improve their
quality of life.
• Provide the employer with
survey information on what
the workplace needs are and
Anders is a writer and researcher, author of the
report “Europe’s New Movement for Work Time
Reduction” (1998) and “Sharing the Work,
Sparing the Planet: Work Time, Consumption & Ecology”.
France
The most striking initiative lately has been France’s 35-
hour workweek, which triggered the revival of demands
for a shorter workweek from Finland to Portugal. In
October 1997, a new left-green government announced
a plan to reduce the workweek from 39 to 35 hours. The
main motivation was to reach out and show solidarity by
creating jobs for the 12.5% of the population that had
been cast adrift in unemployment at the time.
35 hours became the legislated standard in France
on February 1, 2000. (The law doesn’t apply to firms with
fewer than 20 employees until 2002.) The law includes
significant financial incentives, in the form of lower payroll
taxes, for companies that reach a 35-hour agreement
with their workers. The rationale behind the incentives is
that new hiring as a result of shorter hours will reduce the
costs of unemployment, such as UI and social assistance
costs. So the government can afford to give these savings
back to the employers and employees who’ve made
them possible. This financial support also helps to ensure
that neither employers nor employees have to make
unmanageable financial sacrifices. Similar incentives
policies have been introduced in Belgium, Italy and many
Spanish regions. One incentives-based option being
explored in these countries is to tax overtime hours in
order to finance payroll tax cuts for firms that reduce
hours and create jobs.
In France, collective bargaining is being used to work
out the details in a way that makes the most sense in
each sector and workplace, including dealing with the
question of the effect of shorter hours on wages. One
goal is to renew what the French call “social dialogue”
between employers and workers, using talks over the
move to a 35-hour week to address a range of issues in
the workplace, from re-organizing shift schedules to
reducing reliance on temporary contracts.
Between June 1998 and November 2000, 43,000
workplaces reached shorter work time agreements on the
move to a 35-hour week. About half of the full-time work-
place in France is already at 35 hours or less, with many
more workplace agreements still to come.
The 35-hour week is being implemented very flexibly.
It can be in the form of a half day off per week, a day
25
every two weeks, two days every four weeks, or a 7-hour
day. Sometimes, instead of weekly reductions, workers
get an additional 22 or 23 days off annually — an extra
four-and-a-half weeks. In many cases, “time banks” allow
employees to accumulate time off to be taken as longer
holidays, paid sabbaticals, and even early retirement.
I wouldn’t want to leave the impression that the
35-hour week has been without controversy. From the
beginning, the 35-hour week has been viciously attacked
by the political right and business groups, even though
behind the scenes many individual businesses have been
open to negotiation. When first announced, the plan was
called “archaic”, “an attack on entrepreneurs,” and even
“economic suicide.” The 35-hour week, we were told,
was certain to scare away investment and to destroy jobs
rather than create them. (By the way, they said the same
thing about cutting the workday to 10 and then 8 hours
in the past.)
As it turns out, the last three years have seen record
employment growth in France. Unemployment is still
high, at 9.2%, but it’s fallen a long way from 12.5%. Even
“The Economist” magazine has had to admit that in the
last three-and-a-half years, employment growth has been
ten times faster than in the period from 1974-96 and
almost a third of the unemployed have gone back to
work. Last year, employment growth in France was the
fastest in Europe.
Of course, the exact degree to which falling unem-
ployment is due to the 35-hour week is a matter of debate.
But rapid job creation is exactly the opposite of what you’d
have expected if you’d listened to the critics. The govern-
ment maintains that so far, just over 250,000 jobs have
been created. Some critics say the government’s estimates
are too high. Others, like the CFDT trade union confeder-
ation, say that when you consider firms that moved to
35 hours under an earlier incentives law, the numbers
are even higher — 325,000 jobs created since 1996.
Many employers have gained advantages from a
if any, what needs are already
being met.
• Point out that less sick time
saves money, improves morale,
and means higher productivity.
• Remind management of their
own family responsibilities,
and that whatever benefits
workers get, management
could have too.
• Show studies of success from
other workplaces to employers
and employees.
• Suggest trial periods and pilot
projects.
• If necessary, bring family to
work, take work out of the
workplace, or work to rule
(no overtime).
• Bargain family leave clause:
“Each employee shall accumu-
late family leave credits at the
rate of eight hours per month
(pro-rated to other than full
time). This leave can be used
26
reorganization of work that extends operating hours,
increases productivity and brings new people and skills
into the work force. That’s in addition to the financial
incentives they’re receiving from the government. Despite
what the business lobby has said, statistics show that the
35-hour week is not adding to unit labour costs. It’s not
making French firms less competitive.
More serious than the criticism from the right, I think,
is some of the concern from the left. A major controversy
has been the increase in worktime flexibility that has often
come with shorter hours. I’m talking here about more
flexibility for employers, not workers. As just one example,
at automaker Peugeot-Citroën, workers
are getting a 35 hour week, but in
return they have to put in more
Saturday work without premium pay.
Other cases have seen more evening
work, to keep capital operating longer,
or annual rather than weekly
calculations of work hours so that
hours vary from week to week in
response to business ups and downs.
Giving employers more work time flexibility is not
always negative for workers. For example, some com-
panies have reduced average hours, hired more workers,
and in return they get to vary the workweek within a
manageable range of, say, 32 to 40 hours. That kind of
flexibility in hours can also be an alternative to temporary
contracts, reducing the precariousness of work for many.
But when variations of hours are extreme and unpredict-
able, they can create problems, such as making it harder
for families to coordinate activities. Some flexibility
measures linked to the 35-hour week have generated
controversy among unions and even some strikes.
for carrying out personal or
family responsibilities within
the context of today’s societal
demands and pressures.”
• Do not tie family days to sick
leave.
• Bargain elder care clause: “The
employer shall provide elder
care leave credits accumulative
at a rate of one day per month
to be used for elder care which
includes obligations, emer-
gencies and necessary care.”
• Mobilize members to support
all of the above. In educa-
tionals, remind them of their
own family obligations; pro-
vide a forum for them to get
to know each other personally,
including ‘day-in-the-lifes’;
talk about improved quality
of life and putting value in
things other than work.
27
Wages have been less controversial than flexibility, at
least until recently. In roughly 9 out of 10 agreements to
date, there has been no loss in pay for workers — and
minimum wage workers are guaranteed no loss in
monthly pay. For about half the workers involved, how-
ever, there have been salary freezes, over an average
period of two years. Recently, the wage question has
become more of an issue. With the French economy
picking up steam, there are signs that workers are
becoming less patient with salary moderation than they
were when unemployment was the number one
concern.
Another interesting thing the French have done is to
require companies considering layoffs to first try to
negotiate shorter work time with their workers. They’ve
called this the “Michelin amendment” in honour of the
tire-maker that in 1999 laid off thousands of workers
despite a year of high profits. Looking at shorter work
time as an alternative to layoffs is also something worth
getting serious about here, especially as we head into an
economic slowdown.
Despite controversies over issues like worktime
flexibility, a May 2000 poll of workers having moved to a
35 hour week found that 80% said it had been good for
them personally, and 82% said it
allows them to better balance work
and family life. And the 35-hour week
remains the government’s most
popular policy. The 35-hour week has
not been perfect, but it’s pretty clear
that no French political party is going
to get very far campaigning on a
slogan of “let’s go back to 39 hours.”
• Encourage the union to put
on more conferences on work-
family issues.
• Network with other unions and
the SFL/CLC, also with child-
care and elder care groups.
• Set up press conferences to
release studies, stressing the
benefits to employers and
employees.
How can we convince
governments to improve
labour standards around
family leave and elder care?
• Lobby for minimum standards
regarding family leave includ-
ing: eight paid days per year,
pro-rated for part-time, and
the broadest definition of
family. ‘Family’ should be
defined as any individual for
whom employee has duty of
care, including same-sex and
common law relationships.
28
RESOURCESThese minimum standards will
raise the floor of collective
agreements.
• Lobby for publicly-funded
and accountable elder care,
expanded homecare program,
and expansion of long-term
care.
• Say no to GATS (General Agree-
ment on Trade in Services),
which threatens public
services.
• Elect leaders who are in
agreement with these ideals.
To obtain a full written or videotaped copy of
any of the above speeches, or of reports cited within
this document, please contact the SFL office at
(306) 525-0197 or [email protected]
To regularly receive information on bargaining work-
family issues and on family-friendly policies and legisla-
tion, join the SFL’s Balancing Work and Family e-group.
Just send an e-mail to [email protected]
You may also want to check out the following
websites:
• Saskatchewan Labour Work and Family Unit
http://www.workandfamilybalance.com
•Human Resources Development Canada –
Labour Program
http://labour.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/worklife/
welcome-en.cfm
• The Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being
http://www.uoguelph.ca/cfww
• Canadian Labour and Business Centre
http://www.clbc.ca/eng/subjects/balancing.htm
Strategies for Reduced Worktime and Family-Friendly Workplaces
A report on the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour’s
‘Get a Life’ Conference
©2001
Prepared and written by Cara Banks
SFL Distribution of Work/Worktime Committee
Photos by David Durning and Beth Smillie
Front cover photo – Eyewire Stock Images
For additional copies of this report and further information contact:
The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour
#220 – 2445 13th Avenue
Regina, SK S4P 0W1
phone: (306) 525-0197
fax: (306) 525-8960
www.sfl.sk.ca
lıfeagetA REPORT ON THE SASKATCHEWAN FEDERATION OF LABOUR’S CONFERENCE
STRATEGIES FOR REDUCED WORKTIME AND FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACES
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour(306) 525-0197
This project was sponsored by
Status of WomenCanada
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