Excerpt from I. T. F. Documents: Wages, Working Hours and Conditions of Employment on Railways; Austria, Holland, Sweden, Spain, Belgium

The enforcement of this law did not at all have the result of the immediate application of the eight-hours working day to railways. As proof of this it is only necessary to refer to a telegram dated the 8th January 1919 in which the Ministry of Transport, in response to the demands by a group of store employees and maintenance men, stated that these demands even on the ground of the 8-hours law were inadmissable, and that they would proceed to penalise the employees in question in the manner laid down in the code. Protracted 'negotiations then took place from January to August 1919 between the administration and the body representing at that time the interests of the men, namely the Railway Joint Council, until eventually the eight hours working day was extended to all grades in the railway service.

The eight hours day was introduced in January 1919 primarily for railway shops (main Shops, sub-shops and Signal Shaps). In March 1919 it was applied to the stationary engine stations, stores, magazines, and to the maintenance of - ways-department. In April 1919 it was applied to locomotive grades, to station grades, and to all permanent-way grades. In May, the 8-hours day was extended to the travelling grades. During the following months all grades were granted further substantial concessions in response to demands present ed through the Railway Joint Council. The full application of the 8-hours day was not fully effected by one decree covering any particular grade; but in all cases several decrees were necessary. This shows that the administration only conformed to the legitimate claims of the workers in a piecemeal fashion. Any progress was only possible in the first place by way of negotiation.

In order to convey some idea of the railway service as adjusted to meet the requirements of the eight-hours Working Day, the method of allocating duties on the Austrian Railways as formulated by the decrees is shown separ ately for each department. Simultaneously with the treatment of each grade a summary is appended on the average duties and working times before the introduction of the eight-hours day, in order that the distinction between former and present conditions may be clearly demonstrated.

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