4 Day week – why it’s a Trade Union issue and how we can win
Ahead of a Fringe event at next week's national conference in Brighton, Dan tells us about the campaign so far and how you can get involved.
The Efra Four Day Week campaign was launched in November 2023. We have already shifted the employer’s perspective from open hostility to the idea, to a serious exploration about how a four-day week would work. We haven’t yet won a pilot, but it is a significant step in that direction.
The key to our success so far has been the strength of feeling amongst our members. We had one of our best attended meetings when we launched our campaign and our petition to our employer was signed by over 1,400 members.
We knew a petition would never be enough. We also had 250 people come forward to be volunteers for the campaign. This meant when our petition was rejected, we were able to hold six simultaneous workplace rallies. We invited other trade unionists also campaigning for a four-day week. By demonstrating the strength of feeling, our employer was motivated to change their view. Had they not, we would have escalated our actions further.
We will now continue to investigate how a four-day week would work across our group. We are looking at how a four-day week would help members to be more productive in their jobs, building the evidence base. We have already written a report on how a four-week would benefit our members.
The reality is that for many of our members it isn’t a “nice to have”, it's essential. It's having the time for caring responsibilities and keeping on top non-negotiables. For other members, the additional time would be used to volunteer, or to develop skills and nurture hobbies. The evidence shows that even when people have jobs they love, the five-day week alienates them from themselves, their friends and family, and their community.
However, we know that public service comes first. That’s why our focus now is on how a four-day week will help tackle the UK’s lacklustre productivity, chronic illnesses, and our overstretched workforce. Our next report will demonstrate the evidence on productivity impacts, based on research conducted with our members, about their jobs.
Finally, we have an ongoing e-action, where we are asking you to email your MP to make sure they are aware of our campaign and invite them to a parliamentary briefing on 5 June. Please take part to show your support.
If this campaign has shown us anything, it’s the trade union values of collective action.
Delegates to national conference in Brighton are invited to our Fringe event 4 Day week – why it’s a Trade Union issue and how we can win at 5:30pm on Wednesday 22 May in syndicate room 1.