Families Under Pressure - CTU Report

"A Council of Trade Unions research study released today clearly shows many New Zealand families are under severe pressure as a result of long work hours and changing work hour patterns," Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

The CTU has released the first part of a research project entitled Thirty Families, which documents the impact of work hours on families through workers' stories.

The Thirty Families Interim Report on work hours is the first part of the CTU research study. The complete report will contain further sections on leave entitlements and balancing work and family.

"The negative effects of excessive working hours, humanised by the real life stories which were the subject of this qualitative research study, have become an unwelcome feature of life in New Zealand in the past decade," Ross Wilson said.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that there is strong public support for regulation of excessive working hours, and the introduction of family friendly workplace policies," he said.

"People want to get some balance back into their lives."

"The wheel has turned a full circle and after more than a decade of de-regulation it is once again necessary to consider some form of regulation of working hours in the interests of health and safety and to enable New Zealand workers and families to get a life."

The research project was commissioned as part of the CTU's Get A Life! campaign, aimed at achieving changes to legislation and through collective bargaining to address work/life issues.

"Achieving a balance between working life and private life is also necessary for the health of our society. Long working hours deny people the opportunity to relate to family and friends and to contribute to community life," said Ross Wilson.

"I hope this research report will contribute to a long overdue debate on the legal and other measures needed to achieve a modern workplace environment which recognises and values workers' family and community responsibilities."

Ross Wilson said it was encouraging that some political parties had recognised the importance of work/life issues in their policies.

"We are calling on political parties to explain to New Zealand families how their policies address:

- Excessive work hours
- The impact of long hours on workers' health and safety
- The negative impact of long hours on families
- The lack of choice many workers face over excessive hours
- The financial need to work increasingly longer hours
- The impact of unsocial hours
- The increased demand to work longer than contracted hours
- The lack of regulation for reasonable breaks
- The difficulties workers face juggling long hours with care of dependents
- The double burden faced by women workers who work excessive hours

Ross Wilson said the CTU would be approaching the next government for concrete commitment to addressing excessive hours and other work/life issues.

Read the Key Findings and the complete report - click here.

New Zealand Herald story - "Overwork damaging families, say unions" - :

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=2098884&thesection=news&thesubsection=general