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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-02-29, Page 13Ir eatures and entertainment Serving over 25,000 homes in Listowel, Win6h.gm, Mount Forest, Milverton, Elmira, Palmerston, Harriston, Brussels, Atwood, Monkton, Millbank, Newton, Clifford, Wallenstein, Drayton, Moorefield and Arthur. Wednesday, February 29, 1 984, Shorter work week among proposals to Commission i*A of•pf:At: ;iliilLei0".••••0•,s; .,..e.%)0 . . . . . Nel Smits of Atwood, whose background includes industrial social work in Holland, has submitted a brief to the Roy Commis- sion on Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada. In part, her submission suggests means of dealing with the mixed blessings of com- puterization. And her recommendations include gradual reduction of the work week from 40 to 20 hours, "or six months of work, six months off, or whatever version of it". In an interview, Mrs. Smits said that in France, the work week has been shortened to 39 hours with beneficial results. If work weeks in Canada were reduced by only 10 pet debt, this would provide "enormous" relief to the 12 per cent of the population which is unemployed, she says. A long, range objective of a 20 -hour work week, Mrs. Smits states, "is not an unrealistic goal". "The process could be slow or fast,' depending on mental preparedness, in- vestment climate, market conditions. But once this trend is in motion nothing will stop it rn 10 to 20 years the 20 -hour work week will be here (assuming we are still here)." NEW INTERESTS • Mrs. Smits, who came to Canada from Holland 18 years ago, recalls that when laborers in Europe worked five and a half days a week and a five-day week was on the horizon, "amateur philosophers of all stripes agonized that people would not know what to do with themselves. The workers, by contrast, saw no problem . . they slept in, went shopping, did the vacuuming, took excursions, vainted the house . . . many developed interests they never knew they had." With additional hours away from the workplace, people will have more time not only for recreation but also for in- trospection, Mrs. Smits indicated. "I imagine that many people will use their freedom to seek a more balanced life. People will feel a deep need to assert some control over their lives, to counteract the impersonal domination of ' machines, government, multinational companies, big utilities and experts in high places." Mrs. Smits believes there will be renewed interest in co -Operative movements. "It's not a new idea. R has flourished in the past and is being revived now: food co- operatives, Rousing, child care. Because of the feeling of alienation and powerlessness that living in a highly technological society brings, nearly everyone would appreciate the chance lo belong to a smaller ( co - THANKED FOR SUBMISSION—Nel Smits of Atwood sent an eipht-page brief to the Royal Commission on the Economic Lliiion and Development Prospects for Canada and has been thanked for her submission. Among Mrs Smits' recommenda- tions are gradual reduction of the work week, end to the arms race and reduction of government debt. She says one of the keys to a brighter future is replacement of confrontation with co -'operation. operative) community." Such groups, she says, could provide "a sort of safety net, the way extended families were." • Mrs. Smits says one example of an ef- fective co-operative is the Manitoba Indian Band which converted useless marshland into a cranberry plantation. Senior citizens' groups sometimes barter their skills, helping each other with minor home repairs and other services. Single parents, she says, could work out arrangements ,whereby house accommodation and household ex- penses were shared and child care and other , duties exchanged. Co-operatives, she says, could also be a source of ,"real satisfaction and self- expression ..". for artistic purposes, service work, social action and sports. ' . EQUALITY Mrs. Smits predicts that reduction of working hours could help equalize op- portunities and pay for wotneo. If well-paid men are working fewer hours, women may have additional chances to share traditional male responsibilities and remuneration. And if a 20 -hour work week is considered a full-time job, social premiums, such as pensions will have to be adjusted. "Women will generally be gainfully employed, have their own business or share in co-operative or corporate activities, except for some periods when having and raising childern is their main occupation. These periods will be shorter than before, as husbands are home more. With women contributing, to the business and professional world about as substantially as men: there would be little excuse for paying them less." "It 'could even be built in with the negotiation' process for each four-hour reduction in the , work week to adjust women's wagentilthey are on the same level as men's. WAGE ADJUSTMENTS Reduction of working hours would not necessarily entail proportionate reduction of wages, according to Mrs. Smits. • In some instances there could be set- tlements where workers could keep..the same par despite putting in fewer hours, Or there could be employer-employee com- promises such as a two-hour pay decrease for a four-hour work reduction. Mrs. Smits says that in cases where many work -hours are lost because of introduction of computers, shares in a company might be offered as compensationjot lost wages. by, Ivy Reeve. She says introduction of computers should be jointly planned by labor and manage- ment and that firing people because of com- puterization -automation should "constitute wrongful dismissal". Redistribution of employment and wages, Mrs. Smits says, means that management, unions and employees must work together.. And, she states, participation of the young is a priority. "It ought to be a rule that graduates from universities and colleges are offered jobs for • at least one year. After that they can, take their chances with everybody else. Shor- tening the work week would open up places; choices of a stint in a Third World country might be attractive even for those already working in Canada. Apprenticeships and other training programs are already in place and could be extended." Besides reduction of the work week, Mrs. Smits' brief deals with other social and economic conditions including en- vironmental iss'ues, public spending and government debt, housing, transportation and health care. And she contends that the arms race and military expansion are directing capital, resources and brain power away from sujipiying our needs to preparing our demise NO UTOPIA "Transition to a society where everyone has plenty while working less does not come automatically," Mrs. Smits says. "Obviously now, instead of Utopia, we have a big mess on our hands." "What we need is a different perspec- tive . . . (and) the full participation of the maximum number of people. Instead of everyone trying to grab ' an ever bigger share ( there must be) new emphasis on cutting out waste, living on less . . . instead of confrontation, co-operation." Mrs. Smits, who has been thinking about the problem for a long time says she wrote to the MacDonald Commission because experts don't sem to have the answer and some common-sense measures might help. She was thanked for her submission in a letter from Commission Secretary Michel Rochan. "The questions you raise and the issues you address are certainly among those to be studied by the Commission,", the letter states. "It is mainly due to ydilr efforts and those of other Conadiansithat the Commission will be able to fulfil fts mandate and accomplish its task."