4th Draft
Standard Average Working Week
Category: Social Justice
Strength: Mild
Description: World Assembly
Noting that:
GAR 21 bases the living wage on a 30 hour working week;
Most WA Nations have laws restricting the working hours of at least some members of their population;
Having the same normal working week in all nations provides a level playing field.
Concerned that social dumping takes place between WA nations;
Concerned about the detrimental effects of working too much including the increased the risk of stress, depression, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and reduced cognitive function;
Recognises that nothing in this proposal stops anyone from working as many hours as they wish in one day or in one week.
Defines the “Standard Average Working Week” as that stated or implied in all terms of employment (written or verbal).
Recognises that this proposal does not set a maximum for the number of hours worked in any one day or one week. This proposal allows anyone to work 168 hours in a week, so long as their contract doesn’t say they have to work more than 416 hours in 13 weeks and they don’t work more than 624 hours in those 13 weeks.
Recognises that this establishes a 32 hour Standard Average Working Week, and allows 40 hours a week to be worked for the course of the whole year with the agreement of the employee.
Considers:
It time that there is an internationally agreed limit to the amount of work anyone can do in a three month period and over the whole year.
That free and fair trade are enhanced when the same employment rights exist in competing economies.
Recognising that:
Some people have more than one employment.
Recognises that increased leisure time increases a person’s well-being and reduces the risk of accidents in the workplace.
Recognises that productivity gains are made when business best practice is followed by reducing the average working week.
Recognises the international need to improve working conditions to protect workers’ health and safety as some nations refuse to do this
Suggests that:
Working more than 32 hours in any one week should not be required as a condition of employment (either formally or informally).
Believes that no person should be required to work more than 30 hours (in all their paid employment) in any one week counting paid holiday as time worked.
Hereby requires every WA Nation to:
Restrict the amount of overtime a person can work over a 13 week period to an average of 16 hours a week;
Restrict the total amount of overtime a person can work in a year to an average of 8 hours a week;
Begin at once to reduce their Standard Average Working Week to 32 hours a week, if not already at this level, by reducing it by at least 5% (if required) in the first year and to have reduced it completely within seven years of this resolution being passed to 32 hours a week;
Ensure that all forms of paid employment are included when calculating both the Standard Average Working Week and overtime per week.
Ensure that all new terms of employment (written or verbal) are set at the new Standard Average Working Week that apply for that year during implement and at 32 hours a week once fully implemented.
Declare void all contracts specifying a greater Standard Average Working Week than 32 hours once that nation has implemented the Standard Average Working Week of 32 working hours a week and that the parties shall agree a new contract that has a Standard Average Working Week of 32 hours at that time.
Exempts from this requirement:
Workers who donate their time for free;
Members of the armed forces and emergency services when their nation is engaged in war or armed conflict;
Hours spent on-call when the employee doesn’t have to be at a particular location;
The self-employed but not those who contract their labour.
I would like to propose this, but I haven’t proposed anything before and so would appreciate all assistance people wish to give.