work-to-rule

See also: work to rule

English

Alternative forms

• work to rule (noun)

Etymology

Deverbal from work to rule.

Noun

work-to-rule (plural work-to-rules)

1. A labor protest in which employees do only the minimum work required by the rules of a workplace, following safety or other regulations to the letter in order to cause a slowdown.

Usage notes

• A work-to-rule job action is a less severe form of labor protest than a strike, in which employees refuse to do any work.

Translations

labor protest in which the minimum work is carried out

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 按章工作 (zh) (ànzhānggōngzuò)

• Dutch: stiptheidsactie (nl) f (literally “accuracy action”), modelactie (nl) f (literally “model action”), ^{(please verify)} langzaamaanactie (nl) f (literally “slow-down action”)
• Finnish: hidastuslakko (literally “slow-down strike”), italialainen lakko (fi) (literally “Italian strike”)
• French: grève du zèle (fr) f (literally “zeal strike”), ^{(please verify)} grève perlée (fr) f (literally “pearled strike”)
• German: Dienst nach Vorschrift m (literally “service according to regulation”)
• Greek: λευκή απεργία (el) f (lefkí apergía, literally “white strike”)
• Italian: sciopero bianco m (literally “white strike”)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} サボタージュ (sabotāju), ^{(please verify)} サボタージ (sabotāji), ^{(please verify)} サボ (sabo)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: strajk włoski (pl) m (literally “Italian strike”)
• Russian: италья́нская забасто́вка (ru) f (italʹjánskaja zabastóvka, literally “Italian strike”)
• Spanish: huelga de celo f (literally “zeal strike”)
• Ukrainian: італі́йський страйк m (italíjsʹkyj strajk, literally “Italian strike”)

Adjective

work-to-rule (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to such a protest.
   • 2008 June 11, “EL doctors threaten ‘work to rule’ action”, in Dispatch Online‎^[1], South Africa, retrieved 26 June 2008:

     Disgruntled by chronic staff shortages, doctors threatened a “work-to-rule” action at the East London Hospital Complex by the end of this week.