British workers could have their working week cut to three days under plans being considered by the government to help companies cope with recession.
| Does this apply to government ministers? |
The government is understood to be considering paying firms to cut the working hours of thousands of staff instead of retrenching them in an attempt to stop unemployment soaring past two million.
Now business secretary Stephen Mandelson is facing calls to offer compensation for workers who have their hours cut.
Unnamed ministerial sources told The Observer newspaper that a compensation scheme for workers was an option being discussed but was "not imminent". "Government sources said there were issues about whether to restrict compensation to the car industry or apply it to all firms," the newspaper said.
The Department for Business is already advising employers on its website to consider cutting staff hours as a way to save money, saying it might be better than making staff redundant.
Similar measures were after a series of crippling strikes by mine workers in the 1970s which had dramatic knock-on effects through the rest of the nation's economy. Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher introduced a short-time working directive in the 1980s to cover earnings lost through shorter hours. |