5 day work week when introduced. Experiments with time in the USSR
Today, the working week in Russia and many other countries is regulated by labor law, which sets its duration. In most civilized countries it is about 40 hours a week.
But it was not always so. In Russia, the usual five-day work week with two days off appeared only 50 years ago.
On March 7, 1967, the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions adopted a resolution “On the transfer of workers and employees of enterprises, institutions and organizations to a five-day working week with two days off.”
A week later, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a corresponding decree.
After the abolition of serfdom, which marked the beginning of the capitalist formation in the country, peasants worked for hire, doing everything from weaving bast shoes and carting to pottery and flax processing. There was no talk of any working time standards at that time. In winter, the peasants hardly worked, but in the summer they got up at dawn and worked until the sun set. The peasant population was mostly busy in the fields; during working hours they went to the fields and on Sundays - the heat could cause the wheat to fall off. Usually Sunday was a day off, when peasants attended church and then went home, some to taverns.
In the city the situation was not much better. Workers were often busy in factories for 14-16 hours a day. Only in 1897 was the law “On the duration and distribution of working time in industrial establishments” adopted, establishing an 11.5-hour working day for men and a 10-hour day for women. Sunday was a day off. But under a special agreement it was also possible to introduce overtime work, so in practice the working hours did not change.
Serious changes occurred after the October Revolution of 1917.
Then the Council of People's Commissars issued a decree stating that working hours should not exceed 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week.
The working week itself remained six days.
Then the Soviet government began experimenting with working hours. First, in 1929, the working week was reduced to 42 hours - 7 working hours a day. Then the work week became five days - four working days and one day off. Because of this, it was even necessary to issue special calendars so that people would not get confused: on the one hand, the days passed, as is customary in the Gregorian calendar, on the other, they were divided into five-day periods. All workers were divided into five groups, whose weekends were highlighted in a separate color on the calendar. This allowed the authorities to organize continuous production, but it was inconvenient for the workers themselves - the weekends of family members and acquaintances did not coincide, which complicated personal and social life. Since 1931, the People's Commissariat and some other institutions worked on a six-day basis and rested on the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th and 30th of each month, as well as on March 1st.
When the Great Patriotic War began, all weekends and holidays, of course, were cancelled. People worked seven days a week, and only on March 5, 1944, a decree was issued to provide teenagers under 16 years of age with a weekly day of rest and vacations.
It was not until 1960 that the working week returned to a seven-hour, six-day schedule.
And it took another seven years to decide to give citizens another day off.
By the 1960s, the idea of a 40-hour work week was implemented in most European countries. This process was greatly facilitated by the development of the economy and technology, an increase in the proportion of women receiving wages and not doing only household work, a decrease in the birth rate, which reduced expenses for children, and, of course, the struggle of trade unions and workers' parties to improve working conditions - what did Morozovskaya cost? strike in 1885, in which about 8 thousand workers took part.
In 1930, an English economist predicted that future working hours would be 15 hours a week.
Unfortunately, his predictions have not yet come true - the shortest working week is now in the Netherlands, where citizens work an average of 29 hours in four working days, and rest for the remaining three. And the most hardworking are the Japanese and Koreans, spending up to 55 hours a week at work.
The latest changes in the law regulating working hours were made in 1991, when the RSFSR Law “On increasing social guarantees for workers” was issued. According to it, working hours cannot exceed 40 hours per week.
In 2010, the billionaire proposed introducing a 60-hour work week, but this caused a sharply negative reaction from trade unions, and the deputy chairman of the Committee on Labor and Social Policy called such amendments unconstitutional. Later, however, Prokhorov explained that he only meant a person’s ability to work an additional 20 hours part-time. But such a proposal, which would essentially allow entrepreneurs not to pay overtime, did not arouse much interest.
The request to submit an amendment to the labor market committee of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) regarding a 60-hour work week came not from employers, but from work teams, said businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, who heads the committee, in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
In most cases, a person's work is measured by working hours. Labor legislation most often uses units of measurement such as a working day (shift) and a working week.
A further reduction in working hours was provided for by the RSFSR Law of April 19, 1991 “On increasing social guarantees for workers.” In accordance with this law, employees' working hours cannot exceed 40 hours per week.
The duration of daily work is 8 hours, 8 hours 12 minutes or 8 hours 15 minutes, and for work with hazardous working conditions - 7 hours, 7 hours 12 minutes or 7 hours 15 minutes.
In April 2010, Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov proposed changing labor legislation and introducing a 60-hour work week instead of a 40-hour one. In November 2010, the RUIE board of directors approved amendments to the Labor Code, which met fierce resistance from trade unions. However, later the document was to be sent for consideration to a Russian tripartite commission with the participation of employers, trade unions and the government.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
On October 29 (November 11), 1917, by decree of the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) in Russia, an 8-hour working day was established (instead of 9-10 hourly, as was previously the case) and a 48-hour working week with six working days and one day off was introduced during the day. In jobs that were particularly hazardous to health, reduced working hours were provided. On December 9, 1918, the Labor Code of the RSFSR was adopted, which consolidated these provisions.
From January 2, 1929 to October 1, 1933, in accordance with the resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars, a gradual transition to a 7-hour working day was carried out. The working week was 42 hours.
On August 26, 1929, the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR "On the transition to continuous production in enterprises and institutions of the USSR" introduced a new time calendar, in which the week consisted of five days: four working days of 7 hours each, the fifth was a day off.
In November 1931, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a resolution in which it allowed the People's Commissariats and other institutions to switch to a six-day calendar week, in which the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th and 30th of each month, as well as March 1st, were non-working.
On June 27, 1940, the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR came into force on the transition to an 8-hour working day with a “regular” working week according to the Gregorian calendar (6 working days, Sunday is a day off). The working week was 48 hours.
On June 26, 1941, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree “On the working hours of workers and employees in wartime,” in accordance with which mandatory overtime work from 1 to 3 hours a day was introduced and vacations were canceled. These wartime measures were canceled by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on June 30, 1945.
At the end of the post-war recovery period in 1956-1960. The working day in the USSR was gradually (by sector of the national economy) again reduced to 7 hours with a six-day working week (Sunday is a day off), and the working week to 42 hours.
At the XXIII Congress of the CPSU (March 29 - April 8, 1966), it was decided to switch to a five-day work week with two days off (Saturday and Sunday). In March 1967, a series of decrees and resolutions of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Central Committee of the CPSU introduced a standard “five-day week” with an 8-hour working day in the USSR. In general education schools, higher and secondary specialized educational institutions, a six-day working week with a 7-hour working day has been preserved. Thus, the working week did not exceed 42 hours.
On December 9, 1971, the Supreme Council of the RSFSR adopted a new Labor Code (LLC), according to which working hours could not exceed 41 hours. The USSR Constitution (Article 41), adopted on October 7, 1977, legitimized this norm.
In Russia, the law of April 19, 1991 “On increasing social guarantees for workers” reduced working hours to 40 hours a week. On September 25, 1992, this norm was enshrined in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The working week still exists in this form in Russia.
...Probably we should start with the fact that this year it opens today Maslenitsa!.. And at the same time ask: isn’t it time to make this glorious week truly festive - that is, a day off?.. No?.. Then let’s go to the past...
…March 7, 321 Constantine the Great ordered that Sunday be considered a day off - as we remember, it was this emperor who legalized Christianity eight years earlier... As if these events were connected - but in fact, the edict gave rise to some confusion, about which nine centuries later Thomas Aquinas will say this: “ In the new law, the observance of the Lord’s Day took the place of the observance of the Sabbath, not according to the commandment, but according to church institution and custom accepted among Christians”... One way or another - according to modern European standards, Sunday is considered the last day of the week; and in Israel, the USA and Canada - on the contrary, the first. Also, according to the observations of scientists, in a month that begins on Sunday, it always happens Friday the 13th...
...It must be said that the religiously tolerant Constantine was consistent - and did not introduce any bans on labor activity, limiting himself to closing markets and public places on Sunday. (By the way, the Romans once had an eight-day week - for unclear reasons they borrowed the “seven-day week” from the conquered eastern peoples). Thus, initially the day off applied exclusively to the civil service - therefore the event went relatively unnoticed...
...And it remained so for many centuries - despite various restrictions of a “local nature” ... even in the harsh Victorian England of the late 19th century, it seemed to be prohibited to work on this day - but with a number of exceptions. Russian "Craft Charter" Around the same time it also says: “...there are six craft days in a week; on Sunday and the days of the twelve holidays, artisans should not work unless necessary.” However, Sunday will become our official day off only in 1897! (At the same time, an 11.5-hour working day will be legalized... however, in those harsh times this was a big relief).
The law on days off took root long and hard in Rus'... but in the villages - for obvious reasons! - and nothing at all. (Perhaps because of the name; in other Slavic languages this day is simply called "a week"- that is, you can do nothing... why our hardworking people nicknamed the entire seven-day period like that is a mystery! As you know, in most Germanic languages Sunday is called "day of the sun")
The uncompromising Bolsheviks initially wanted to get rid of Sunday... In 1930 they introduced four-day with a fifth day off - and you could choose it yourself; a year later - the same six days Finally, in 1940, they gave up on the experiments and returned Sunday with a seven-day week to its rightful place. And twenty-seven years later they became generous and added Saturday to the weekend...
...By coincidence, this happened precisely on March 7 - in 1967, a resolution was issued by the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions “On the transfer of workers and employees of enterprises, institutions and organizations to a five-day work week with two days off.” Thus, more than a millennium and a half later, the edict of Emperor Constantine was significantly supplemented...
PS: These days, the respectable public is increasingly working as it will - but, in fairness, the majority still have warm feelings for Sunday... However, this is a completely different story.
Working hours are the distribution of working hours during a certain calendar period. The regime may be the same for all employees of the company, or may vary for different categories of employees. There are regular working hours, which are established for all or the majority of workers in the company, and special working hours, which differ from the usual working hours or the distribution of working hours. These include, for example, shift work or a flexible schedule. Today we will talk about the standard five-day workweek: how many hours does a five-day work week last, how many days off are employees entitled to, etc.
- How many hours is a five-day work week?
The normal duration (standard hours) of a five-day work week is 40 hours. This norm does not depend on the following factors:
- organizational and legal form of the company;
- working hours (for example, flexible work or a standard five-day work week)
Since the number of working hours in a five-day workweek is 40 hours, one working day is typically eight hours.
Payment for days off during a five-day work week
With a 5-day work week, workers are provided with two days off per week; the usual days off are Saturday and Sunday, and rarely Sunday and Monday. In some cases, the employer may establish a work schedule at the enterprise in which generally accepted weekends are working days. For example, during shift work, weekends are set by the shift schedule and are “floating”, that is, they can fall on different days of the week, taking into account the alternation of shifts. Sometimes the following situations occur: an employee works on a standard schedule of a five-day workweek with two days off, but the employer needs the employee to go to work on his day off. To do this, the following conditions must be met.
- In order for employees to go to work on their day off, the employer must have a legal basis;
- the employee’s written consent will be required (exceptions are provided);
- it is necessary to take into account the opinion of the trade union (in some cases established by law);
- You will need a written order from the employer.
It is worth keeping in mind that the payment for “working” days off with a five-day work week will be increased, or you can compensate for them with a day of rest additionally provided to the employee. However, in this case there are exceptions: they apply to employees with whom an employment contract has been concluded for a period of up to 2 months. In this case, if you ask an employee to go to work on his day off, you can only compensate for his work in monetary terms and at least double the amount.
Order on the transition to a five-day working week
If you want to increase or decrease the length of the working week, you must adhere to the following procedure:
1. Issue an order to switch to a different work schedule (five-day working week). The order must be drawn up in free form.
The order must indicate:
- a list of positions, professions or individual employees for whom a new work schedule is established, for example, a five-day work week;
- the procedure for introducing a five-day working week;
- a list of employees who are responsible for the introduction of a five-day working week;
- deadlines for order execution.
Employees, if they switch to a new work schedule, must be familiarized with the order.
An example of an order to switch to a five-day work week:
2. Establish a different length of the working week (for example, five days or six days) in the internal labor regulations (collective agreement). Changes to the Internal Labor Regulations are formalized by order of the head of the enterprise or a person authorized by him, and in a collective agreement - by an additional agreement to it. All employees must be familiarized with all changes made to the Internal Labor Regulations or their new edition by signature.
3. Reflect the transition to a different length of the working week in employment contracts with employees for whom it is established, by drawing up additional agreements to employment contracts.
I’ll start another debunking of liberal myths.
Today we will talk about the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 26, 1940 “On the transition to an eight-hour working day, to a seven-day working week and on the prohibition of unauthorized departure of workers and employees from enterprises and institutions”
Today this decree is presented as follows:
Volodya Rezun-Suvorov curses him louder than anyone else. “The labor legislation of 1940 was so perfect that during the war it did not have to be adjusted or supplemented.
And the working day became fuller and wider: a nine-hour day imperceptibly turned into a ten-hour day, then into an eleven-hour day. And they allowed overtime work: if you want to earn extra money, stay in the evening. The government prints money, distributes it to people who work overtime, and then pumps this money back out of the population through defense loans. And people again lack money. Then the government meets the people halfway: you can work seven days a week. For lovers. Then, however, this was introduced for everyone - to work seven days a week." ("Day M" http://tapirr.narod.ru/texts/history/suvorov/denm.htm)
"The weekend was cancelled.
In June 1940, an appeal to workers appeared in the Soviet press calling on them to switch to a seven-day working week. Of course, this was a “initiative from below”, signed by hundreds of representatives of class-conscious progressive workers and progressive intelligentsia. The rest of the population understood that war was coming. It should be noted that since the early 1930s, the Soviet Union had a six-day working week with a seven-hour working day. In other countries they worked longer - with a six-day work week, workers worked 9-11 hours a day. On June 26, 1940, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, an eight-hour working day, a seven-day working week and criminal liability for being late for work by more than 21 minutes were introduced. Dismissal at will was prohibited. For workers and employees, criminal penalties were established for violation of labor discipline. For being late for work you could get five years in the camps, for arguing with your superiors you could get a year, and for marriage you could get up to ten years in a strict regime regime. In 1940, it was very easy to be late for work in Moscow - there was not enough public transport, commuter trains and buses physically could not accommodate all passengers, especially during rush hour. People hung in clusters on the external handrails, which sometimes broke off while moving and passengers flew under the wheels. Sometimes real tragedies occurred when people who were hopelessly late threw themselves under the transport. The seven-day period was abolished in 1946, and criminal liability for being late was abolished in 1956." (Finance magazine." http://www.finansmag.ru/64351)
"...in 1940, the USSR abolished days off at enterprises"("From victory to defeat - one step" http://www.ruska-pravda.com/index.php/200906233017/stat-i/monitoring-smi/2009-06-23-05-54-19/pechat .html)
Home-grown fighters against Stalinism are not far behind
“A six-day week is 6 working days out of 7 with one day off, a 7-day week is NO days off!”("To the Stalinists: Decree prohibiting the unauthorized departure of workers and employees from enterprises and institutions" http://makhk.livejournal.com/211239.html?thread=2970407)
Well, okay, enough examples, now I’ll explain.
The peculiarity of the Soviet calendar of the 30s was that there was a six-day week (the so-called shestidnevka) with a fixed day of rest falling on the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th and 30th of each month (March 1 was used instead of February 30, every 31st considered as an additional working day). Traces of this are visible, for example, in the credits of the film “Volga-Volga” (“the first day of the six-day period,” “the second day of the six-day period,” and so on).
The return to the seven-day week occurred on June 26, 1940 in accordance with the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the transition to an eight-hour working day, to a seven-day working week and on the prohibition of unauthorized departure of workers and employees from enterprises and institutions.”
And the Decree sounded like this:
1. Increase the working hours of workers and employees in all state, cooperative and public enterprises and institutions:
from seven to eight o'clock - in enterprises with a seven-hour working day;
from six to seven o'clock - at jobs with a six-hour working day, with the exception of professions with hazardous working conditions, according to lists approved by the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR;
from six to eight o'clock - for employees of institutions;
from six to eight o'clock - for persons over 16 years of age.
2. Transfer work in all state, cooperative and public enterprises and institutions from a six-day week to a seven-day week, counting seventh day of the week - Sunday - day of rest. http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/History/Article/perehod8.php
So, the transition from a six- to seven-day calendar is today actively used by anti-Sovietists as a crime of Stalinism and the enslavement of workers.
As always, we draw our own conclusions