date: Wednesday 7 August 2002 embargo: 00:01h Thursday 8 August 2002

Attention: industrial, regional and economic correspondents

Govt figures say ‘Burn-out Britain’ persists

Responding to figures from the Office of National Statistics released today (Thursday 8th), TUC General Secretary, John Monks, said:

"This latest research confirms what the TUC has been arguing. We now live in ‘Burn-Out Britain’, where one in six people work more than 48 hours a week and one in ten men work more than 55 hours a week.

'We are not mounting an argument for the work-shy but an argument for British business' productivity. Long hours are bad for workers and bad for business. This is case of shared responsibility: the Government needs to ensure minimum standards and unions and employers need to work together to find flexible solutions to cutting long hours."

Notes to Editors:

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Press release (300 words) issued 8 Aug 2002