Working time, the struggle for reduction of the journey and the centrality of labor theory of value

Abstract

The article seeks to reflect the absence of Trade Union agenda that directly address issues of working time, flexibility and intensity of the work, as well as the centrality of work in our contemporaneity. Analyzing some features about the hiring of workers in the Brazilian labour market, demonstrates that there is a great distance between the discourse, academic reading on the topic and the reality. The reduction of the workday is a multifaceted issue, which features a complex and controversial debate, raising the interest of diverse social actors interested in this story, but which have different conceptions about the debate, due to the heterogeneity of values in play. It is argued in this paper that the social implications of a policy measure for the reduction of the workday does not guarantee the free time and human emancipation. However, it is understood that this reduction is a historical trend, linked to the socio-economic development. There are marked differences between the Trade Union discourse, political sympathy by the measure, theoretical statements and empirical evidence on the subject. We understand that the struggle of unions and Union stations for 40 hours per week is of great importance to workers, but it is necessary to include in the agenda the question of trade union work intensity. Finally, we focus on the ontological dimension of theory of value from the Marxian conception. Keywords: working time, work intensity value of journey, unionism.