Norway. The length of a workday for each workingman must not exceed 12 in each 24 hours, including intervals of rest, with 1 uninterrupted hour for dinner, or employers, if they choose, can adopt the 10-hour system, including the hours for meals. No workingman may be employed more than 6 nights in 2 weeks in the night work authorized by law. Overtime work is allowed on Sundays and at night in case of certain holidays, and the municipal councils can grant further exemptions. Ontario. There is no regulation of the hours of male labor. RAILWAYS. The hours of labor upon railways in European countries are usually regulated rather by administrative decree than by statute. (See U. S. Labor Bulletin, No. 20, pp. 1 to 117.) Great Britain. The railway regulation (hours of labor) act of 1893, July 27, practically puts the regulation of railway labor in the hands of the board of trade department of government. It excepts clerical labor from its provisions also labor employed in railway workshops. Under suitable penalties the law prescribes that * * * * * 1. If it is represented to the board of trade, by or on behalf of the servants, or any class of the servants, of a railway company, that the hours of labor * of any particular servants engaged in working the traffic on any part of the lines of the company are excessive, or do not provide sufficient intervals of uninterrupted rest between the periods of duty, or sufficient relief in respect of Sunday duty, the board of trade shall inquire into the representation. 2. If it appears to the board of trade that there is, in the case of any railway company, reasonable ground of complaint with respect to any of the matters aforesaid, the board of trade shall order the company to submit to them, within a period specified by the board, such a schedule of time for the duty of the servants, or of any class of the servants, of the company, as will in the opinion of the board bring the actual hours of work within reasonable limits, regard being had to all the circumstances of the traffic and to the nature of the work. 3. If a railway company fail to comply with any such order, or to enforce the provisions of any schedule submitted to the board in pursuance of any such order and approved by the board, the board may refer the matter to the railway and canal commission, and thereupon the railway and canal commission shall have jurisdiction in the matter, and the board may appear in support of the reference, and the commissioners may make an order requiring the railway company to submit to the commission, within a period specified by the commission, such a schedule as will, in the opinion of the commission, bring the actual hours of work within reasonable limits. We append a table of hours of labor per week in various railway occupations, copied from Dr. Weyl's article referred to above. France.-Up to the present time there have been no laws passed by the French Parliament upon the regulation of the hours of labor in the railway service, the regulation being hitherto effected by means of ministerial decrees. Thus the ministerial circular of May 3, 1864, fixed the maximum working day for switchmen at 12 hours, even in cases where there is no interval between the day and night service. In the case of the enginemen the regulation was more difficult, and it was only after a series of tentative efforts that a method of regulation was arrived at that improved the conditions of the employees without injuring too seriously the interests of the companies. The regulation of the hours of labor of employees at small stations was a still more delicate affair, and in this latter case it was found advisable simply to establish general principles rather than to lay down definite and absolute rules. The hours of labor of enginemen and stokers were regulated by the ministerial circulars of April 24, 1891, April 25, 1892, and May 4, 1894. The successive changes, however, were by no means radical, but were intended to be merely modifications in detail of former regulations. The earlier circulars were rather tentative, and were found to be too inelastic, and in certain cases imposed sacrifices upon the companies which were incommensurate with the benefits derived from them. It had been found inconvenient to limit the hours of labor to 10 per day, or, on the contrary, to allow an average working day of 12 hours, and in the final regulation in 1894 a compromise was effected between these two methods which obviated the disadvantages of both. The ministerial circular of 1894 had a double object in view, viz, the limitation of the working day of enginemen and of firemen to a reasonable maximum, and the increase, as far as possible, of the number of cases in which the employees could be allowed to take their rest at home. Accordingly, the average working day was fixed at 10 hours, with at least 10 hours of uninterrupted rest, so that in a period of 10 consecutive days of work, continuing from midnight to midnight, there should be not more than 100 hours of actual work, and not less than 100 hours of rest, in sufficiently long periods to be considered uninterrupted. For any one day the actual hours of labor might exceed 10 hours of actual work, but in no case might it exceed 12 hours, and in every instance it must both be preceded and followed by periods of rest, which were fixed at a minimum of 10 hours when the employee was at home and at 7 hours when he was lodged elsewhere. It is not permissible to have more than two consecutive periods of uninterrupted rest of a duration of less than 10 hours, and the combined duration of any two consecutive periods of uninterrupted rest must be at least 17 hours. According to the circular the enginemen and firemen are considered actually at work as long as they are on the engine or are not allowed to go away, and as long as they are employed at any sort of work whatsoever either in the stations or in the shops. When the employees are held in reserve, only such time may be considered as rest which they are allowed to pass in their dormitories or the refectories of the stations and workshops, or in some other place of repose. Even in the case of special trains no deviation from the rules above laid down are permitted, unless in such special instance it is fully justified by the necessities of the service. If through the necessities of the service, or in consequence of unforeseen or accidental circumstances, the work of enginemen and firemen exceeds the prescribed limits, the companies must render an account of such excess, but the enginemen and firemen may not invoke a prolongation of the length of the working day. The company must on the 10th day of each month make a report of excess time to the chief of control of exploitation and traction, who prescribes alterations in the service which will cause the excessive labor to disappear without delay. The supervising engineers frequently verify the statements of the companies and report every three months. The regulation of the hours of labor in stations where there are a number of persons employed is not very difficult, since by a system of relays it is easy to assure a maximum working day of reasonable length. In France the railways are invited to post in each station employing several persons the hours of labor and of attendance of each employee, so that the supervising officials can easily see that no employee is obliged to work for too long a period. In stations, however, which are provided with signals, but the importance of which does not justify the presence of more than one person, the problem of regulation is more difficult. The small number of trains on such lines may run at such long intervals that the employee may be kept at work for a period of time which may injure his health and risk the safety of the public. On the other hand, the work is not continuous, but is interrupted by a series of intervals of rest, especially where the employee is actually lodged in the station. Still, even in such conditions, a minimum of rest is required to assure the necessary vigilance, and the minimum of rest is estimated by the minister of public works at 8 hours. If during the day, however, the employee has, besides the time allowed for his meals, an uninterrupted rest of 3 hours, the greater period of rest may be reduced to 72 hours, while if the supplementary interval is 4 hours in length, the length of the main interval of rest may be reduced to 7 hours. To effect this reform it may be necessary that the service for the earliest morning train or for the latest night train be performed by either an auxilliary employee or by the train crew itself. The clearest idea of the demands of the railway employees themselves upon the subject of the length of the working day may be obtained from an analysis of the Berteaux bill, which was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on the 17th of December, 1897, but was thrown out by the Senate. The discussions to which this projected measure gave rise, both in the chamber and in the public press, throw light upon the more legitimate wishes of the men and upon the difficulties that beset any attempt at the regulation of the hours of labor of railway employees. The Berteaux bill (proposition de loi Berteaux) required that the average working day for all persons engaged in the train service should not exceed 10 hours a day. For any one day or any series of days this maximum might be exceeded, provided that the work did not average over 10 hours. A maximum average working day of 10 hours and a maximum of 12 hours for any single day had already been proclaimed by the ministerial circulars of April 25, 1892, and of May 4, 1894, but the instructions in these circulars were not followed out. The Berteaux bill further provided that the period of work for enginemen and firemen should be counted from the time when the employee entered until he left the depot, and for the chiefs of trains, conductors, and brakemen from the time of entering until time of leaving the station. This provision was intended to give to the employee the benefit not only of the period noted in the time-table, but also of the time in which his presence is required before the departure and after the arrival of the train. In order, further, to prevent the employment of any person for an inhumanly long period, by allowing or compelling him to commence the work of one day immediately after the completion of the work of the preceding day, as, for instance, from 2 p. m. to 12 p. m. Monday, and 12.01 to 10 a. m. Tuesday, the bill required that every period of work should be followed by an uninterrupted rest of 10 hours. The bill also provided that any period of repose between two trains should be considered as work unless the interruption was at least 4 hours in length, and likewise required that the period in which the employee was bound to be present and hold himself in readiness should also be considered as work. At present any interruption between two trains, even though it be only an hour in length, is considered as rest, as is also the period when the employee is obliged to be present but is not actually employed. The bill requires the punishment of any chief of service who is guilty of a contravention of this law, especially in the case of accidents due to the fatigue of the employees, the penalties provided being those of the law of July 15, 1875. The Berteaux bill also takes up the questions of leave of absence and pensions, as may be seen later. It is practically impossible to obtain accurate information upon the actual hours of labor worked upon French railways. The claim is often advanced by the employees that the maximum hours prescribed in the ministerial decrees are frequently and unnecessarily exceeded, and that the railway companies make no attempt to reduce the working day to within reasonable limits. The journal of the leading railway labor organization frequently brings cases of unusually long hours; but while many of the facts thus cited are undoubtedly true they furnish no sufficient evidence upon which to arrive at the ordinary duration of the working day in the various grades of railway employment. Nor can such data be obtained in any other way. The investigation into the rate of wages recently made was extended to the subject of hours of labor, but the returns of the company, even if free from a desire to paint the conditions better than they are, were too indefinite to allow any clear idea to be obtained of the average length of the day's labor. (Weyl, ibid., 52–55.) Belgium.-In the regulation of the length of the working day it has been found easier to arrange the number of hours in the central administration than in the active service. By a ministerial decree the hours of work in the administrations centrales du département are fixed at from 8.30 a. m. to 12 m., and from 2 p. m. to 5.30 p. m.; in other words, to 7 hours in all. The generally prescribed minimum of work in the active service is 8 hours, to be arranged by the various division and section chiefs. The actual length of the working day, however, is considerably in excess of this minimum. The men employed in the maintenance of way and structures have a working day of 12 hours, but as this includes 2 hours for meals the effective working day is only 10 hours. The effective working day in the workshops is also 10 hours, and since 1895 the workmen at the stations have been employed a maximum of 12 hours a day. Those employed in the surveillance and policing of the track are limited to a day of 12 hours in all cases where there is a complete night service. Upon lines of feebler traffic the work varies from 8 up to 14 hours, according to the importance of the posts. The hours of enginemen, firemen, and brakemen have also been reduced within recent years. In former years the working day frequently attained 17 hours, but it has been successfully reduced to 15 and latterly to 13 hours. The present maximum of 13 hours includes not only the time for meals, but that of actual presence on the machines before and after the service, which is estimated as two halfhours. Another reform which has been introduced into the regulation of the hours is involved in the change from day to night service. Formerly this change sometimes kept the employee at his post for 18 or 24 hours, but this has now been reduced to 12 hours. To each of its employees the Belgian State railway administration guarantees a daily uninterrupted rest of 8 consecutive hours at his own house. Employees working in the more important stations are allowed an interruption of an hour in their work to allow them to take their meals outside. The employees are also accorded 2 free hours every Sunday and legal holiday in order to permit them, if they so desire, to attend divine service with regularity. Until 1887 every employee was granted 1 free day per month with pay, but in that year it was made 2 free days per month, and in 1891 the number of free days with pay was increased from 24 to 28 per year. Prussia.-Until 1892 there was no general regulation of the hours of labor of all employees of State railways. There had been, previous to that year, special regulations issued, but no general set of rules had been adopted. In the year 1892, however, a ministerial circular was issued as a basis for the officials in determining the length of the working day. The result of the reduction in hours was an increase in the number of men needed, and as this increase could not be met at once, the administration was forced to limit itself to a gradual reduction, taking up one class of employees after another. This was especially necessary, as the supply of capable men was not in all cases equal to the increased demand. By the end of 1895, however, the great majority of employees was brought under the new rules, and by May 15, 1896, the ministry saw its way clear to make the rules general, and these were finally carried into execution in October, 1896. The large number of men concerned in this reorganization, and the thoroughness with which the administration went into the matter, warrants a somewhat detailed account. The underlying principles of the Prussian regulations, expressed generally, are as follows: In all responsible positions the men employed in the working of the lines are not to be occupied more than 8 hours, where the work is uninterrupted and ntense. This period of work may be increased in proportion as there are more frequent periods of rest and as the work is more or less intense or continuous, the highest number of hours allowed being 14 or 16, according to the nature of the work. This maximum may not be frequently attained, however, no matter how easy or how little continuous the work is, it not being permitted to work the men this period more than once in a given period (as a week, fortnight, etc.). The work must be preceded and followed by a period of rest, which must be so arranged that it may usually be passed by the employee at his home. The diminution in the number of hours worked has been not inconsiderable, but owing to the different methods of keeping accounts of the different periods it is difficult to show exactly how great this decrease has been. The statistics of 1897 show the number of men working 8 hours a day or less, those working from 8 to 10, from 10 to 12, from 12 to 13, from 13 to 14, from 14 to 15, and from 15 to 16 hours a day, there being no cases of work exceeding 16 hours. For 1892, however, all men employed 10 hours or less are grouped together, and also all men employed from 14 to 18 hours. But even with these data it is possible to get some idea of the extent of the reduction. Of the 109,081 men (88,577 in 1892) considered, 23.73 per cent were occupied 10 hours or less in 1897 as compared with 17.03 per cent in 1892, while only 6.06 per cent were employed over 14 hours in 1897, as compared with 15.61 per cent 5 years before. The principal amelioration of the condition of the employee as regards hours of labor is to be found in the abolition of the working day of over 16 hours, the decrease in the number of men employed from 12 to 14 hours, and especially of those employed from 14 to 16 hours, and the consequent increase in the number of short days. The following tables show the number of employees considered and the hours of labor per day in 1892 and in 1897, respectively: Employees and hours of labor per day, Prussian state railways, 1892. Employees working per day 10 to 12 hours. 12 to 13 hours. 13 to 14 hours. 14 to 18 hours. ered. Num- Per cent. Employees and hours of labor per day, Prussian state railways, 1897. Employees working per day Occupation s. Flagmen. ees consid ered. Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. 22,753 524 2.35 1,060 4.66 15, 153 66.60 2,863 12.58 2,541 11. 17 289 1.27 323 1.42 260 1.30 279 1.40 794 6.56 73 2.49 113 3.93 33 1.12 67 2.33 247 12.34 4, 852 18. 90 Locomoti ve 20, 778 4,070 19.59 3, 717 17.89 staff Total.. 109, 081 12, 423 11. 39 13, 460 12. 34 55, 577 50. 95 10, 895 9. 99 10, 115 9.27 3, 555 3.26 3,056, 2.80 The present regulations in force in regard to the hours of labor on certain railways were promulgated in the Eisenbahn-Verordnungs-Blatt for December 30, 1897. For station employees, in stations where the incoming and outgoing trains are so frequent as to allow no uninterrupted period of rest, the day's labor is not to be over 8 hours. Under other conditions the period of work may be 12 hours, and on days of change of service 14 hours. Where the traffic is exceedingly light, and there are a number of pauses, the day's work may occasionally be extended to 16 hours, including the time in which the employee is merely in readiness. Telegraph operators are to be employed a maximum of 8 hours where the work is uninterrupted, 12 to 14 hours where the telegraphic traffic is not so intense and there are sufficient pauses. The men working in the shunting yards are subject to similar provisions. The maximum day's work for switchmen is 8 hours where there are no pauses, but it may be extended to 12 hours, according to the length and frequency of the pauses and interruptions in the work. Where there is any single period of rest of 4 hours, the day's work may be extended to 16 hours. For flagmen and signalmen on lines on which there is only day service, or at least only limited night service, the hours of labor may attain 14, and where the traffic is slight and there are a series of pauses, or one or two long ones, the time may occasionally be extended to 16 hours. Where there is a complete night service the maximum day is 13 hours (except on days of change of service, when it is 14 hours); and if the employee can not find lodgings within reasonable distance of where he works, the time spent in coming to and going from his work must be taken into account in fixing his hours. The time schedules of the locomotive and train staff shall be so arranged that for no single month the average day's work shall exceed 11 hours, and where the conditions permit it the number of hours may fall considerably below this maximum. For any single day the work can not exceed 16 hours, and it can reach 16 only when in I C-VOL XVI-01-3 |