Nearly a century after adopting its first international standard on working time, a new study by the International Labour Office estimates that one in five workers around the world - or over 600 million persons - are still working more than 48 hours a week, often merely to make ends meet.
The study spotlights working time in over 50 countries, and for the first time explores the
implications for working time policies in developing and transition countries. For the most part, it
shows that the distribution of working hours in developing and transition countries to be highly diverse,
with some individuals working very long hours, and others working short hours. thus more likely to fall into poverty
In terms of those countries with the highest incidence of long working hours for 2004-05
(defined as more than 48 hours per week), Peru topped the list at 50.9 per cent of workers 2/, the
Republic of Korea at 49.5 per cent, Thailand at 46.7 per cent 3/, and Pakistan at 44.4 per cent .
Attempts to reduce hours in these countries have been unsuccessful for various reasons
including the need of workers to work long hours simply to make ends meet and the widespread use of
overtime by employers in an effort to increase their enterprises' output under conditions of low
productivity, the report says, noting that, generally speaking, laws and policies on working time have a
limited influence on actual working hours in developing economies, especially in terms of maximum
weekly hours, overtime payments and their effect on informal employment
In accordance with the Labor Code of Azerbaijan, normal working hours should not exceed 8 hours, whereas the normal working week cannot be higher than over 40 hours. The expanding service sector and informal employment, two of the hallmarks of today's global economy, are also major sources of longer working hours. Working hours in the services sector and its subsectors tend to be the most varied, and these hours are particularly long in industries such as wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, and transport, storage and communications, all of which also commonly involve shift work and "unsocial" hours.
For instance, a higher proportion of workers spend more than 48 hours per week on the job in the wholesale and retail trade than any other industry. And the security industry, which has among the longest legalhours of any industry, working hours in countries have been estimated at 72 hours per week.
The study says that in the informal economy, which provides at least half of total employment
in all regions of the developing world. According to Russian experts, Azerbaijani migrants working in Russia work 9.7 hours a day six days a week, whilst the working hours reach 12-14 hours; many migrants work without holidays, employed in heavy or unfavorable jobs. Meanwhile, women in developing and transition economies are resorting to informal self-employment to realize reduced hours as means to reconcile their work and family responsibilities.
In the manufacturing sector, the report says, average working hours in manufacturing across the
world largely ranges between 35 to 45 hours per week, but are significantly longer in a number of
developing countries, including Costa Rica, Peru, the Philippines, Thailand and Turkey. The study also
shows both younger and retirement-age workers work slightly shorter hours than prime-age workers,
often reflecting the insufficient employment opportunities for these two groups.
Another element of concern is what the report calls a clear "gender gap" in working time. The
study says men tend to work longer average hours than women worldwide, with women working
shorter hours in almost every country studied. Moreover, men are more likely to work long hours than
women, while women are far more likely to work short hours (less than 35 per week) than men.
The report concludes that this is likely due to their bearing the primary responsibility for "unpaid" work
in households and providing care for family members, not only children but also the elderly and
individuals.
Among married couples with children, the report says, men's paid working hours tend to
increase while women's paid working hours decrease. For example, in Hungary the presence of
children in the family resulted in men working 13 to 19 per cent longer than women, and this increased
with more children in the family. In Malaysia, an estimated 23 per cent of women stopped paid work
altogether because of childcare reasons.
Such situation in the world countries, where Azerbaijan is not an exception, makes actual a topic on per hour payment of labor. According to UN experts, wages less than $3 per hour are unacceptable, because it leads to destruction of labor potential of economy. For instance, the minimal per hour payment in the United States comprise approximately $11-$14, while in Greece - approximately $5-$7.
Per hour payment is profitable, because the employer cannot pay less than working hours. So, over the last time the par hour payment has become very popular not only in Azerbaijan, but also in other post-Soviet countries. Thus, the Supreme Court of Ukraine resolved to set up minimal per hour payment of labor. Minimal salary will be set up every year by Parliament in the law on public budget.
Some countries carry out it by stages, when the transition to the new system is done per specialties, for example, beginning from doctors, teachers, etc. Full and simultaneous transition to per hour system requires tremendous financing out of the public budget and is frequently, accompanied by some problems. Some experts urge that per hour payment is efficient only in some grades, including teachers, lawyers. How could the labor of creative people be referred to such grouping? Further, the application of per-hour payment makes sense only in case if accurate registration of working hours is carried out. However, some technical devices, including magnate maps, counters, can be required in this respect. It is impossible to make the employers to observe the elementary norms, and increase legal wages of employees is almost impossible. Per hour payment of labor will have sense in case when by minimal per hour payment of labor the employer is guaranteed definite fund of working time.
Nevertheless, our country at any case will have to assimilate new per hour payment systems, as this is the demand of the ILO and other international organizations. So far, Azerbaijan has joined some 60 international agreements, dealing with labor, including the European Social Charter, which envisages transition to per-hour payment. Respectively, Azerbaijan should fulfill its obligations.
Rest and labor should be balanced, otherwise it could have negative effect on health of employees and welfare of their families, increase of accidents, as well cut in the productivity and gender equality.
The study also provides a number of suggested policy points designed to advance decent work
in the area of working time. Some of these policy suggestions include:
• reducing long working hours to lessen the risk of occupational injuries and illnesses, and their
associated costs to workers, employers, and society as a whole;
• adopting family-friendly working time measures adapted to national circumstances, such as
flexi-time, emergency family leave, and part-time work;
• promoting the development of high quality part-time work, shaped by local institutions and
traditions and informed by the principles and measures found in the ILO's Part-Time Work
Convention, 1994 (No. 175), which can help promote gender equality;
• adopting reasonable statutory hours limits that can contribute towards enhancing firms'
productivity, and measures to assist enterprises to improve their productivity, in order to help
break the "vicious cycle" of long working hours and low pay;
• considering measures that allow workers to devote more time to their families and to have more
influence over their work schedules, in order to make formal economy jobs a possibility for
more women.
Perhaps, after the application of these measures in Azerbaijan, we will be in one list with countries where the duration of working day is lower and the wages are considerably high. In developed countries, where working hours are typically shorter, the United Kingdom stood at 25.7 per cent, Israel at 25.5 per cent, Australia at 20.4 per cent, Switzerland at 19.2 per cent, and the United States at 18.1 per cent.