In the era of better technology, which has produced millions of unemployed people and also forced its workers to work overtime, the CPM’s trade union arm – Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has made a radical suggestion of reducing work hours to 35 hours from 48 hours a week. It also plans a campaign to push the idea.

“We have a jobless growth for the last few years. In the 11th five-year plan when economy was growing at more than eight percent, employment generation was just 0.7 percent. But during the 10th five-year plan when the GDP growth was much less, we used to generate employment at 2.7 percent. The only way that we can increase job opportunities is through reducing working hours and include more people in it,” said Tapan Sen, general secretary, CITU, who presented a report to this effect in the recently concluded CITU conference in Kannur.

Sen said there should be four instead of three shifts in a day and more people should be employed. “It will not impact productivity,” he added. He said this idea was still only a suggestion and CITU would discuss it with other trade unions.

He also said that this idea had been implemented in France a decade ago, but the 35-hour week work was still generating debates across the world. “The social equilibrium has to be addressed, otherwise there is a chance that social unrest will take place. The best way is to include more people in the job,” said Sen.

But the Congress’s trade union arm, Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), doesn’t fancy CITU’s idea. “Will the company give the same salary in the reduced working time,” said Rajendra Prasad Singh, general secretary of INTUC. He added, “Even the public sector companies are reducing workforce. In this situation how can you expect companies to work on this formula?”

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), trade union arm of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also rejected CITU’s suggestion. “Why don’t CITU raise the voice as many post are vacant in PSUs. There is no regularisation of daily wage workers,” said Akhtar Hussain, vice president, BMS. He termed it as a utopian idea.

Hussain said that the instead of 48 hours, the workers work for 60 hours in a week and they don’t even get overtime for it.