The Archive · 1940

France Reduces Working Hours

Employment to Be Spread Out; Overtime Will Soon Be Abolished

Clermont-Ferrand, Aug. 7 The French Government intends to lessen working hours, temporarily at least, in order to allow industry to employ as many men as possible, the Production Minister M. Rene Behn, declared today in an interview with the "Paris Soir."

Work, he stated, will be divided equally among as large a number of labourers as possible. He pointed out that the present situation is one in which, on the one hand, the demand for labour has considerably declined, while, on the other, there is a constant increase in labour available as a result of the progress sive demobilization of the armed forces, The statesman revealed that, in order to help industry, the French Government will no longer claim a 40 per cent. tax on all salaries earned in overtime hours.

Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.

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