How many hours are you doing today?

Workers across the UK are being asked to participate in a TUC day of action over long hours.

Called "Work your proper hours day", the event has been timed to take place on February 25, the day on which the TUC calculates that workers who regularly do unpaid overtime will, on average, finish working a year's worth of free hours, and start being paid for their labour.

BECTU is asking members in regular employment to use features on the TUC's official website www.worksmart.org.uk to send anonymous messages to their bosses about working hours.

Freelancers, who often have to sign up to working weeks of 72 hours and more, are also being asked to join in a survey of actual working time on February 25, being run by www.tvfreelancers.org.uk.

According to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the body representing most UK unions, British employers benefit to the tune of £23 billion a year from unpaid overtime worked by their employees. Britain is also the only one of the European Union's pre-enlargement 15 member states in which working hours over the last ten years have actually increased.

Long working hours have always been a problem in the broadcasting, film, and entertainment industries, and BECTU has freqently had to challenge employers who flout union agreements, and sometimes employment laws, by putting excessive demands on employees and freelancers.

When the last major legislation on working time was introduced in the UK, prompted by the European Working Time Directive, BECTU had to take legal action against the government to win rights to time off for freelancers with engagements shorter than 13 weeks.

The Working Time Directive is currently being reviewed by the EU, and the UK is a leading member of the group of countries who are using the review as an opportunity to water down the protection contained in the directive.