<P> A fair day's wage for a fair day's work is an objective of the labor movement, trade unions and other workers' groups, to increase pay, and adopt reasonable hours of work . It is a motto of the American Federation of Labor . </P> <P> In 1881 Frederick Engels criticised the slogan in the first issue of The Labour Standard . He argued that the worker exchanges their full labour power for a day in return for the subsistence necessary to maintain them for a day: "The workman gives as much, the Capitalist gives as little, as the nature of the bargain will admit ." He also points out that the capitalist can force a better bargain as they can live off their capital, whereas a worker, without reserves, will be forced to accept work at a less advantageous rate . As innovation continually throws workers out work as they are replaced by machines, he argues, and come to form an industrial reserve army . Further he argues that the wealth of capitalist has been accumulated through the exploitation of workers . He ends up calling for the old motto to be buried for ever and replaced by another: "Possession of the Means of Work, Raw Material, Factories, Machinery, By the Working People Themselves ." </P>

A fair day's pay for a fair day's work taylor