Report II - Measurement of working time - 18th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, Geneva, 24 November - 5 December 2008

The International Labour Organization has long been concerned with the regulation of working time as one aspect which has a direct and measurable impact on the health and well-being of working persons, their level of fatigue and stress (and on that of the people close to them). It also has an important impact on productivity levels and labour costs for establishments, and on the general quality of life in all countries. Measuring levels and trends of the hours worked in an economy, and for different groups of workers, is therefore important when monitoring working and living conditions as well as when analysing economic developments. The importance of working time is reflected in the preamble to the ILO Constitution and in more than 30 ILO Conventions adopted in this field by the International Labour Conference, the first of which (the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) introduced the standard of an eight-hour day and a 48-hour week. These standards cover a wide range of working time issues, such as the regulation and reduction of maximum daily and weekly working time, the regulation of night work, weekly rest, paid annual leave and maternity leave, part-time work, workers with family responsibilities and the measurement of working time.