“The work has become less but longer”: memoirs about the cancellation of six days
MOSCOW, 7 Mar — RIA Novosti, Larisa Zhukova. Exactly half a century ago, on March 7, 1967, the Soviet government adopted a decree on the transfer of workers and employees on a five-day working week with two days off. Why the contemporaries of the events evaluated the transition is ambiguous, clarified RIA Novosti.
“The only day off spent at home”
Half a century ago, the Soviet people worked six days a week. Thus the output of the workers and employees of different organizations do not always coincide. The schedule was “floating”, and rest days marked on the calendar for each of the groups of workers in a particular color. The transition to “five days” with fixed weekend — Saturday and Sunday — Ministers have spent the last several years: he was not supposed to derail the “continuous production”.
The news of the introduction of five-day working week was a pleasant surprise. Initially the conversations were about, only to reduce working hours on Saturday. About it RIA Novosti said the 97-year-old Elizabeth Tkachenko, a former doctor-the therapist of polyclinic of the Ministry of defense on the red square.
“I went home, so I worked, in total, six and a half hours a day. Half a day at the reception, half a day on call. Without a break for lunch. Total — 42 hours per week. Started on-to a miscellaneous: at one time, from eight in the morning, and later with nine. Our working day was less than those who worked at the plant, so in the afternoon, at half past two, I was free.
Chores to do time. The kids in the morning usually took the garden. But with the vouchers it was very difficult, we had a long time to achieve. The son eventually managed to attach, and a ticket to the daughter had disappeared. Grandparents had, so she had to stay home one sat on the windowsill, waiting for me.
All mother’s only day off spent at home. In the summer, someone managed to even go to the country — from morning to evening.
If there’s something serious, of course, time off — all were part of the position. Sick leave also had to sign — this is not a problem.
The load is slightly higher: 42 hours we now have not worked for six and five days. Working day has increased. But our work is affected for the better. In six hours we never meet. The first weekend was dedicated to cleaning, and the second went somewhere with the kids.
Young parents, “What to do, since there is nothing to do?”
However, not all evaluated the changes positively. Actor of theater and cinema Valery Zolotukhin wrote in his diary for 1968:
“The people with five days now for three or four days walking. How the state manages without so many labor-hours? Declared the fight against drunkenness and what to do to the people, since to do nothing and the money is there? Von Boris Hmm. withdrew from the national Commission to combat drunkenness and alcoholism. Now all enterprises established such commissions.”
Senior researcher, Institute of history, Academy of Sciences of the USSR Isaak Mintz wrote about the fact that innovation causes problems for hospital patients.
In the new office I saw some negative consequences of the five-day week: two days — Saturday and Sunday — there were no doctors. Fortunately, I captured from the former Department of some medical devices, and he has prepared himself to sleep. Otherwise, wouldn’t sleep!Isaac Mintz, Senior research fellow, Institute of history of the USSR
In September 1967, according to the memoirs of the Minister of energy of Pyotr Neporozhny, Minister of Finance Vasiliy Garbuzov said that the transition to five-day working week increases wages, therefore “we need to make the transition to the new system of planning and to increase reserves”.
“More than in Myanmar”
Despite the fact that from the “six days” refused half a century ago, in some cases in Russia, still increase the length of the working week. For example, in January the clinic of the Penza region passed on six days work. The reason was an epidemic of influenza and SARS in the region. Earlier in December last year, a similar situation has developed in Moscow and the Ryazan region.
In 2010, the Committee on the labour market of the Russian Union of Industrialists and entrepreneurs (RSPP), which was headed by Mikhail Prokhorov, has prepared a draft amendment to the Labour code: to legislate the possibility of introducing, with the consent of the employee a 60-hour work weeks.
As explained in Committee, Russia seriously lags behind developed countries in terms of productivity.
However, the proposal provoked a negative response. The head of the Federation of independent trade unions of Russia Mikhail Shmakov said that much working only in Myanmar and North Korea — countries with economies that cannot be ranked as “advanced”.
Co-chair of the Association of entrepreneurs “Business Russia”, the Minister for Far East development Alexander Galushka told RIA Novosti that the case is not that the Russians have little or poor work, and that you need to use high technology.
Agree with this and Elizabeth Tkachenko. Analyzing your experience six days a week, she comes to the conclusion that to repeat it for all Russians is not: “the State lost nothing in the transition to five-day period, and we had a second day off”.