Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Bloomberg.com: France backs off 35-hour work week

March 22 (Bloomberg) -- France's parliament voted to effectively rescind the 35-hour work week, raising overtime limits and letting private-sector employees swap time off for more money in a bid to boost employment and incomes.

The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, today gave final approval to a proposal by President Jacques Chirac's administration to overhaul the seven-year old law passed by a Socialist-led government...
While bigger, more dramatic news has taken up most of our attention this week (quite reasonably so), France's government has taken what is seen by many to be an extraordinary step. It has recognized that imposing a 35-hour work week in the hopes of forcing businesses to hire more people didn't work. And it has backed off.

See also: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-1536539,00.html http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20050321-1158-wrestlingwithwork.html http://www.brookings.edu/fp/cuse/analysis/workweek.htm
http://www.triplet.com/50-10_employment/50-20_workingtime.asp http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4248845.stm

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