How many days off were there in the USSR? Weekends in the USSR. working six days. Working schedules of other countries

On October 29 (November 11), 1917, by decree of the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) in Russia, an 8-hour working day was established (instead of 9-10 hourly, as was previously the case) and a 48-hour working week with six working days and one day off was introduced during the day. In jobs that were particularly hazardous to health, reduced working hours were provided. On December 9, 1918, the Labor Code of the RSFSR was adopted, which consolidated these provisions.
From January 2, 1929 to October 1, 1933, in accordance with the resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars, a gradual transition to a 7-hour working day was carried out. The working week was 42 hours.
On August 26, 1929, the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR "On the transition to continuous production in enterprises and institutions of the USSR" introduced a new time calendar, in which the week consisted of five days: four working days of 7 hours each, the fifth was a day off.
In November 1931, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a resolution in which it allowed the People's Commissariats and other institutions to switch to a six-day calendar week, in which the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th and 30th of each month, as well as March 1st, were non-working.
On June 27, 1940, the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR came into force on the transition to an 8-hour working day with a “regular” working week according to the Gregorian calendar (6 working days, Sunday is a day off). The working week was 48 hours.
On June 26, 1941, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree “On the working hours of workers and employees in wartime,” in accordance with which mandatory overtime work from 1 to 3 hours a day was introduced and vacations were canceled. These wartime measures were canceled by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on June 30, 1945.
At the end of the post-war recovery period in 1956-1960. working day in the USSR gradually (by industry National economy) was again reduced to 7 hours with a six-day work week (Sunday is a day off), and the work week to 42 hours.
At the XXIII Congress of the CPSU (March 29 - April 8, 1966), it was decided to switch to a five-day work week with two days off (Saturday and Sunday). In March 1967, a series of decrees and resolutions of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Central Committee of the CPSU introduced a standard “five-day week” with an 8-hour working day in the USSR. IN secondary schools, higher and secondary special educational institutions A six-day work week with a 7-hour working day was maintained. Thus, the working week did not exceed 42 hours.
On December 9, 1971, the Supreme Council of the RSFSR adopted a new Labor Code (LLC), according to which working hours could not exceed 41 hours. The USSR Constitution (Article 41), adopted on October 7, 1977, legitimized this norm.
In Russia, the law of April 19, 1991 “On increasing social guarantees for workers” reduced working hours to 40 hours a week. On September 25, 1992, this norm was enshrined in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The working week still exists in this form in Russia.

...Probably we should start with the fact that this year it opens today Maslenitsa!.. And at the same time ask: isn’t it time to make this glorious week truly festive - that is, a day off?.. No?.. Then let’s go to the past...

…March 7, 321 Constantine the Great ordered that Sunday be considered a day off - as we remember, it was this emperor who legalized Christianity eight years earlier... As if these events were connected - but in fact, the edict gave rise to some confusion, about which nine centuries later Thomas Aquinas will say this: “ In the new law, the observance of the Lord’s Day took the place of the observance of the Sabbath, not according to the commandment, but according to church institution and custom accepted among Christians”... One way or another - according to modern European standards, Sunday is considered the last day of the week; and in Israel, the USA and Canada - on the contrary, the first. Also, according to the observations of scientists, in a month that begins on Sunday, it always happens Friday the 13th...

...It must be said that the religiously tolerant Constantine was consistent - and there were no prohibitions on labor activity did not introduce it, limiting it to the closure of markets and public places on Sunday. (By the way, the Romans once had an eight-day week - for unclear reasons they borrowed the “seven-day week” from the conquered eastern peoples). Thus, initially the day off applied exclusively to the civil service - therefore the event went relatively unnoticed...

...And remained so for many centuries - despite various restrictions of a “local nature”... even in harsh Victorian England late XIX century, working on this day was, it seems, prohibited - but with a number of exceptions. Russian "Craft Charter" Around the same time it also says: “...there are six craft days in a week; on Sunday and the days of the twelve holidays, artisans should not work unless necessary.” However, Sunday will become our official day off only in 1897! (At the same time, an 11.5-hour working day will be legalized... however, in those harsh times this was a big relief).

The law on days off took root long and hard in Rus'... but in the villages - for obvious reasons! - and nothing at all. (Perhaps because of the name; in others Slavic languages this day is simply called "a week"- that is, you can do nothing... why our hardworking people nicknamed the entire seven-day period like that is a mystery! As you know, in most Germanic languages ​​Sunday is called "day of the sun")

The uncompromising Bolsheviks initially wanted to get rid of Sunday... In 1930 they introduced four-day with a fifth day off - and you could choose it yourself; a year later - the same six days Finally, in 1940, they gave up on the experiments and returned Sunday with a seven-day week to its rightful place. And twenty-seven years later they became generous and added Saturday to the weekend...

...By coincidence, this happened precisely on March 7 - in 1967, a resolution was issued by the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions “On the transfer of workers and employees of enterprises, institutions and organizations to a five-day work week with two days off.” Thus, more than a millennium and a half later, the edict of Emperor Constantine was significantly supplemented...

PS: These days, the respectable public is increasingly working as it will - but, in fairness, the majority still have warm feelings for Sunday... However, this is a completely different story.

The decision is still valid in all countries now former USSR. Before this, the working week had been six days since the 1920s.

“The shortening of the working week fit into economic reforms mid-60s, initiated by Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin, and had a propaganda effect, especially in the context of political and ideological confrontation with China”

The joint resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions “On the transfer of workers and employees of enterprises, institutions and organizations to a five-day working week” was adopted in preparation for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. And it was signed on March 7 for a reason. Because it was addressed primarily to working women, because it freed up the whole day for household chores.

The issues of switching to a five-day work week and, in general, reducing the time spent by workers and employees in production were first discussed in the country during the all-Union economic discussion of 1951-1952 and were mentioned in Stalin’s last work, “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR” (1952). It was noted that with the successful development of the national economy in the country, conditions will appear so that workers have more free time for recreation and cultural leisure. But…

Khrushchev's policy excluded the implementation of such plans. Since the late 50s, the socio-economic situation in the country has been deteriorating. Manifestations of this trend were, first of all, the growing import of food and equipment, the confiscatory monetary reform of 1961, which was accompanied by an increase in prices for goods and services coupled with their shortage, and new taxes on subsidiary and personal farms. All this caused social tension and, as a consequence, led to mass unrest in Novocherkassk (1962) and a number of other regions in last years Khrushchev's rule.

The new leadership understood that they urgently needed some kind of “social outlet” that would prove their desire to improve the quality of life in the country of victorious socialism. This was especially necessary, for obvious reasons, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. And also because in most socialist countries Saturdays were already days off.

The introduction of the five-day week was complemented by the announcement of May 9 as a non-working holiday, the expansion of social benefits, and the gradual abolition of Khrushchev’s agricultural taxes. And also by the resumption of circulations to repay bonds of reconstruction loans of 1946-1958. Let us remember that almost all the country's workers and employees were subscribed to these loans. But in 1961, repayment was stopped - as the then management stated, due to numerous requests from workers.

In a broader context, the reduction of the working week fit into the economic reforms of the mid-60s initiated by Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin. It was he who, in 1965, on the basis of State Planning analytics, proposed that the Politburo positively resolve this issue. It was said that according to the USSR State Planning Committee, there is no shortage of labor and engineering personnel in most regions and industries and is not expected in the near future. And the increase in wage funds and bonuses provided for by the reforms will more than compensate workers for the “loss” of one working day from their earnings. At the same time, Kosygin noted that the indicators of the country’s socio-economic development in the 8th Five-Year Plan (1966-1970), especially in terms of labor productivity growth, were much higher than in the previous period. This makes it possible to shorten the working week by one day without harming the economy. Brezhnev and the then head of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, Grishin, were the first to support the prime minister’s arguments and, accordingly, the draft of the above-mentioned resolution.

It is worth mentioning the propaganda effect of this decision in the context of the political and ideological confrontation between Moscow and Beijing: in China and Albania, which joined it (as well as in the DPRK, Cuba, and Mongolia), even Sunday was rarely a day off at that time.

Economic problems in the country began to worsen around the mid-70s, after Kosygin's reforms were suspended. The West increasingly purchased Soviet energy resources and other types of raw materials, which negatively affected both the pace and quality of development of the national economy. This collectively led the USSR to 1991.

But all countries of the ex-USSR owe the five-day working week precisely to the decision of the Soviet leadership on March 7, 1967.

Alexey Chichkin

You can count a work week and a work day. This is the total time that a worker spends at work in a week or one day. These standards should be regulated by law based on the production process and natural human needs for recreation.

Different countries have their own labor standards and legislative framework in this area. Let's look at the most “hardworking” countries and those with minimum working week standards.

Working week in the Labor Code

Working time is the time that a worker spends performing his direct labor duties established by the employment contract. It is regulated by the regulations of a particular enterprise.

The working week in days calculates the time that a person should spend at his workplace. But there is another principle of calculation. The hourly workweek shows the total number of working hours in a calendar week. These two concepts are most often used in everyday life.

• how many working days are there in a week;
• how many hours are there in each working day?

The product of these two indicators will give the desired figure, but if one of the days is shortened, for example, Saturday, then you need to subtract these shortened hours. For example, 5 days of 8 hours of work would constitute a standard 40-hour week.

Working week standards are prescribed by law (Labor Code) and in employment contracts. So, in Art. 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that the working week should be no more than 40 hours. For those who are officially employed, according to the collective labor agreement, this is the maximum number of working hours per week, which are paid at the normal rate. Overtime, namely over 40 working hours per week, must be paid at different rates.

How many working days are there in a week?

There is a standard five-day work week. With this schedule, the weekends are Saturday and Sunday. There is also a six-day work week with only one day off – Sunday.

The six-day week is introduced where a five-day week is not suitable due to the specifics of the work or the maximum load standards. Many companies work six days a week, especially the service sector - Saturday is a fairly active day for providing services. Many factory workers and other workers who work a five-day week apply for certain services on their day off - Saturday. Not only commercial, but also some government agencies work on a six-day schedule.

Some countries practice a 4-day work week. Such a proposal was also made in the State Duma, but did not find support, but only thundered in the news. In this case, the length of working days would be about 10 hours, compensating for the additional day off.

Obviously, the duration of the shift is determined by the norms of the length of the working week and the number of working days in it. If we start from the standard figure of 40 working hours per week, then the duration of the working day will be:

• 5 days – 8 working hours per day;
• 6 days - 7 working hours a day, Saturday - 5 working hours.

These are the general rules for Russian Federation based on current provisions of the law.

Working days calendar for 2015

In 2015 there is one more working hour than in 2014. With a 5-day week of 40 hours, 2015 contains:

• working days – 247;
• shortened pre-holiday days (by 1 hour) – 5;
• weekends and non-working days – 118;

8 hours (working day with 5 days) * 247 - 5 (reduced hours) = 1971 hours

The number of working weeks in a year can be determined by dividing the resulting 1971 hours by the standard of 40 hours, we get 49 working weeks. There are special production calendars in which you can see which days of the week are working. 2015 as a whole is practically no different from the previous one.

Non-standard graphics

It is necessary to take into account enterprises where work takes place in 2, 3 and 4 shifts, the duration of which is different - 10, 12 and 24 hours. The schedule is set by the employer, who is guided by the opinion of the trade union, as well as the conditions and specifics of the production process.

For example, some heavy industrial plants often operate 3 shifts, each 12 hours long, seven days a week. Then, each employee is assigned his own schedule of shifts and days off, which do not coincide with regular public holidays. However, general standards for maximum working hours must be observed, and overtime hours must be paid at an enhanced rate.

For those who work part-time, the working day is limited to 4 hours and the working week is limited to 16 hours. True, the law provides exceptions for cultural workers, doctors and teachers.

Standards for working hours are established both at the level of the Russian Federation and at local levels as part of the preparation of contracts, both collectively and individually.

Weekends and religious traditions

Working week norms differ in different countries; in some of them, days off may not be the same days that are considered such in Russia. In European countries, the USA and most Asian countries, the weekend is Saturday and Sunday. But in Muslim countries - Friday and Saturday. The working week in this case begins on Sunday and lasts until Thursday - Egypt, Syria, Iraq, UAE. In Iran, for example, the work schedule starts on Saturday and ends on Thursday.

The main day off in Israel is Saturday, while Friday is a shortened day - you can only work until lunch.

This is due to religious traditions and the need to give people a day off to perform necessary religious rituals. The Christian Sunday tradition and the Jewish "Sabbath" underlie the official holidays. However, in most developed countries This is a tradition that has been formed over many years and enshrined in law - a clear and convenient working day schedule.

Working schedules of other countries

After the collapse of the USSR, a 40-hour working week was established in almost all CIS countries. What is the situation like in other countries around the world?

The European Parliament has set the maximum working time, including overtime, at 48 hours per week. In addition, some European countries have introduced their own regulatory restrictions. For example, Finland has established both a minimum time of 32 working hours per week and a maximum of 40 hours.

But the standard working week for most European countries is set at 35 working hours: Switzerland, France, Germany and Belgium. Private enterprises usually work more, but in production this norm is strictly observed.

In the United States, since the 40s of the 20th century, a working week norm of 40 hours has been introduced. This is true for government workers, while in private firms this figure is 35 hours. This reduction in working hours is caused by the economic crisis.

Interestingly, in the Netherlands there is a trend towards shorter working weeks and longer working hours. With a standard of 40 working hours per week, Dutch enterprises are increasingly introducing a 4-day working week with a 10-hour working day.

Who works the hardest?

It's no secret that the most hardworking people are in China, where people work 10 hours a day. If we take into account that China has a six-day working week, this works out to 60 working hours. A lunch break of only 20 minutes and a vacation of 10 days leaves no doubt about the country's leadership in hard work.

You need to understand that the official working week and actual data can differ greatly, in either direction. In the CIS countries, especially in private enterprises, people tend to work more than 40 hours, and overtime is not always paid.

In addition, with all the breaks and shortened days, workers in many countries are working below regulatory standards. The largest gap between official hours and actual hours worked is observed in the USA, Germany and France, where the working week actually totals no more than 33–35 hours.

In France, for example, Friday is an official working day, but many make it so short that after lunch there is no one at the workplace.

But the British, known for their hard work, usually stay late at work, so that their week stretches to 42.5 hours.

Statistics on the working week in different countries

Taking into account all of the above, we can only determine on average how many hours per week they work in the following countries:

• USA - 40;
• England - 42.5;
• France - 35-39;
• Germany, Italy – 40;
• Japan - 40-44 (according to some sources 50);
• Sweden - 40;
• Netherlands – 40;
• Belgium - 38;
• Russia, Ukraine, Belarus (and other CIS countries) - 40;
• China - 60.

Although in some sources you can find slightly different data. For example, Italy is named one of the countries where people work the least. It is probably impossible to fully generalize these statistics, but it is necessary to consider them from different angles: for private business, large enterprises etc.

Most of these countries have a five-day work week, and the number of hours in a working day can vary.

4 days in Russia?

It turns out that not only in the Netherlands, but also in Russia a working week of 4 days could be adopted. In 2014, the State Duma discussed the possibility of introducing a 4-day working week at the request of International organization labor (ILO). The ILO recommendations regarding the 4-day week are based on the possibility of expanding the number of vacancies and jobs. Such a short week gives citizens the opportunity to relax more effectively and efficiently.

However, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation stated that such innovations are impossible for Russia, calling a 4-day working week a luxury. On the other hand, the plight of some citizens would force them to find a second job during these 3 days off, which would have a negative impact on their health and ability to work.

I’ll start another debunking of liberal myths.

Today we will talk about the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 26, 1940 “On the transition to an eight-hour working day, to a seven-day working week and on the prohibition of unauthorized departure of workers and employees from enterprises and institutions”

Today this decree is presented as follows:

Volodya Rezun-Suvorov curses him louder than anyone else. “The labor legislation of 1940 was so perfect that during the war it did not have to be adjusted or supplemented.
And the working day became fuller and wider: a nine-hour day imperceptibly turned into a ten-hour day, then into an eleven-hour day. And they allowed overtime work: if you want to earn extra money, stay in the evening. The government prints money, distributes it to people who work overtime, and then pumps this money back out of the population through defense loans. And people again lack money. Then the government meets the people halfway: you can work seven days a week. For lovers. Then, however, this was introduced for everyone - to work seven days a week." ("Day M" http://tapirr.narod.ru/texts/history/suvorov/denm.htm)

"The weekend was cancelled.
In June 1940, an appeal to workers appeared in the Soviet press calling on them to switch to a seven-day working week. Of course, this was a “initiative from below”, signed by hundreds of representatives of class-conscious progressive workers and progressive intelligentsia. The rest of the population understood that war was coming. It should be noted that since the early 1930s, the Soviet Union had a six-day working week with a seven-hour working day. In other countries they worked longer - with a six-day work week, workers worked 9-11 hours a day. On June 26, 1940, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, an eight-hour working day, a seven-day working week and criminal liability for being late for work by more than 21 minutes were introduced. Dismissal at will was prohibited. For workers and employees, criminal penalties were established for violation of labor discipline. For being late for work you could get five years in the camps, for arguing with your superiors you could get a year, and for marriage you could get up to ten years in a strict regime regime. In 1940, it was very easy to be late for work in Moscow - there was not enough public transport, commuter trains and buses physically could not accommodate all passengers, especially during rush hour. People hung in clusters on the external handrails, which sometimes broke off while moving and passengers flew under the wheels. Sometimes real tragedies occurred when people who were hopelessly late threw themselves under the transport. The seven-day period was abolished in 1946, and criminal liability for being late was abolished in 1956." (Finance magazine." http://www.finansmag.ru/64351)

"...in 1940, the USSR abolished days off at enterprises"("From victory to defeat - one step" http://www.ruska-pravda.com/index.php/200906233017/stat-i/monitoring-smi/2009-06-23-05-54-19/pechat .html)

Home-grown fighters against Stalinism are not far behind
“A six-day week is 6 working days out of 7 with one day off, a 7-day week is NO days off!”("To the Stalinists: Decree prohibiting the unauthorized departure of workers and employees from enterprises and institutions" http://makhk.livejournal.com/211239.html?thread=2970407)

Well, okay, enough examples, now I’ll explain.
The peculiarity of the Soviet calendar of the 30s was that there was a six-day week (the so-called shestidnevka) with a fixed day of rest falling on the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th and 30th of each month (March 1 was used instead of February 30, every 31st considered as an additional working day). Traces of this are visible, for example, in the credits of the film “Volga-Volga” (“the first day of the six-day period,” “the second day of the six-day period,” and so on).

The return to the seven-day week occurred on June 26, 1940 in accordance with the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the transition to an eight-hour working day, to a seven-day working week and on the prohibition of unauthorized departure of workers and employees from enterprises and institutions.”
And the Decree sounded like this:

1. Increase the working hours of workers and employees in all state, cooperative and public enterprises and institutions:
from seven to eight o'clock - in enterprises with a seven-hour working day;
from six to seven o'clock - at jobs with a six-hour working day, with the exception of professions with hazardous working conditions, according to lists approved by the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR;
from six to eight o'clock - for employees of institutions;
from six to eight o'clock - for persons over 16 years of age.
2. Transfer work in all state, cooperative and public enterprises and institutions from a six-day week to a seven-day week, counting seventh day of the week - Sunday - day of rest. http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/History/Article/perehod8.php

So, the transition from a six- to seven-day calendar is today actively used by anti-Sovietists as a crime of Stalinism and the enslavement of workers.

As always, we draw our own conclusions

UPDATE: Apparently, the photo of the grave is most likely a photoshopped fake and February 30th never actually existed in the USSR. Personally, I have not yet been able to find a single confirmation in the form of any calendar or newspaper for 1930 or 1931. But calendars are known that indicate the opposite.

Original taken from masterok in the Soviet revolutionary...

It would seem why I am showing you this photo. Do you notice anything strange on her? Exactly exactly? Well, take a closer look! Found it? Ok, let's go to the cut and read the details...

- a calendar, an attempt to introduce which was made starting from October 1, 1929 in the USSR. However, on December 1, 1931, this calendar was partially abolished. The final return to the traditional calendar was made on June 26, 1940.

During the operation of the Soviet revolutionary calendar, in parallel, in some cases, the Gregorian calendar was used.

The Soviet revolutionary calendar with a five-day week was introduced on October 1, 1929. Its main goal was to destroy the Christian seven-day weekly cycle, making Sundays working days. However, despite the fact that there were more days off (6 per month instead of 4-5), such an artificial rhythm of life turned out to be unsustainable; it contradicted both everyday habits and the entire established folk culture. Therefore, the revolutionary calendar, under the pressure of life, gradually changed towards the traditional one, which was restored in 1940. This calendar reform took place as follows.

On August 26, 1929, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, in the resolution “On the transition to continuous production in enterprises and institutions of the USSR,” recognized the need to begin a systematic and consistent transfer of enterprises and institutions to continuous production from the 1929-1930 business year (from October 1). The transition to “continuous work”, which began in the fall of 1929, was consolidated in the spring of 1930 by a resolution of a special government commission under the Council of Labor and Defense, which introduced a unified production timesheet-calendar.

The calendar year had 360 days, and accordingly 72 five-day periods. Each of the 12 months consisted of exactly 30 days, including February. The remaining 5 or 6 days (in a leap year) were declared “monthless holidays” and were not included in any month or week, but had their own names:

A week in the USSR in 1929-1930. consisted of 5 days, while they were divided into five groups named by color (yellow, pink, red, purple, green), and each group had its own day off per week.

The five-day period took root with exceptional difficulty - in fact, it was a constant violation of the usual biological rhythm of people’s lives. Therefore, the Bolsheviks decided to retreat slightly.

By the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of November 21, 1931 “On the interrupted production week in institutions”, from December 1, 1931, the five-day week was replaced by a six-day week with a fixed day of rest falling on the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th and 30th of each month ( March 1 was used instead of February 30, every 31st was considered an additional working day). Traces of this are visible, for example, in the credits of the film “Volga-Volga” (“the first day of the six-day period”, “the second day of the six-day period”...).

Since 1931, the number of days in a month has been returned to its previous form. But these concessions did not change main goal calendar reform: eradication of Sunday. And they also could not normalize the rhythm of life. Therefore, with the first signs of rehabilitation of Russian patriotism on the eve of the war, Stalin also decided to stop the fight against the traditional structure of calculating time.

The return to the 7-day week occurred on June 26, 1940 in accordance with the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the transition to an eight-hour working day, to a seven-day working week and on the prohibition of unauthorized departure of workers and employees from enterprises and institutions.” However, the week in the USSR began on Sunday, and only in later years on Monday.

Despite the fact that chronology continued according to the Gregorian calendar, in some cases the date was indicated as “NN year of the socialist revolution,” with a starting point of November 7, 1917. The phrase “NN year of the socialist revolution” was present in tear-off and flip calendars up to and including 1991 - until the end of the Communist Party’s power.