Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 16 - From Marx to Mao

EXPLANATORY NOTE ON DRAFT BILL ON 8-HOUR WORKING DAY113In any case, of course, such Bills are ten times more rationalfrom the Social-Democratic point of view than attemptsto “adapt” oneself to what is practicable for reactionary orbourgeois governments. But whereas in France and Germany,where there is freedom of press and assembly, it suffices todraft a Bill with only a proclamation of principle, in ourcase in Russia at the present time it is necessary to addconcrete propaganda material in the Bill itself.Hence we regard as more expedient the type adopted bythe author of the original draft, but a number of correctionsneed to be made in this draft, for in some cases the authorcommits what is in our opinion an extremely important andextremely dangerous mistake, viz., he lowers the demandsof our minimum programme without any need for it (e.g.,by fixing the weekly rest period at 36 hours instead of 42,or by saying nothing about the need to have the consent ofthe workers’ organisations for permitting night work). Ina few cases the author, as it were, tries to adapt his Bill tothe requirement of “practicability” by proposing, for example,that the minister should decide requests for exceptions(with the matter being raised in the legislative body) andby making no mention of the role of the workers’ trade unionorganisations in implementing the law on the eight-hourday.The Bill proposed by our subcommittee introduces intothe original draft a number of corrections in the above-mentioneddirection. In particular, we shall dwell on the groundsfor the following alterations of the original draft.On the question of what enterprises should come underthe Bill, the sphere of its application should be extendedto include all branches of industry, trade and transport, andall kinds of institutions (including those of the state: thepost office, etc.) as well as home work. In the explanatorynote put forward in the Duma the Social-Democrats mustespecially emphasise the need for such an extension and forputting an end to all boundaries and divisions (in this matter)between the factory, trading, office, transport and othersections of the proletariat.The question may arise of agriculture, in view of the demandin our minimum programme for an eight-hour workingday “for all wage-workers”. We think, however, that it is