Philosophical - political concept and setting up of work in ancient Rome

To know and to understand the Roman concept and consideration of work from a philosophical and political point of view we need to turn to Marcus Tullius Cicero.

As statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator and writer, Cicero had a positive evaluation of work, in general, especially when it leads to human moral progress: for him work must not be conceived only as an economic activity but also as a true moral action.

Cicero believed that work should be useful and honest, and workers should be just and truthful, provide purpose, and never for personal gain over honesty. For more information about Cicero’s views on work, click here.

Starting from Cicero’s proposition, we can then move on to outline specifically how the relationship between - what could be considered in today's terms the employer and the worker - was understood at that time. 

Workers were mistakenly considered to be only slaves but in reality, there were also “free” men who worked, especially in the post-classical Roman era, which were characterised by the advancement of the ethical and social value of work. 

Among the ancient Romans the employment relationship consisted of a rental relationship, the person who was to do the work was rented to the employer. In other words, the object of the working relationship was not the work itself but the worker itself, as reported by Titus Maccius Plautus in the case where the worker - speaking ironically - claims to have been a very expensive and highly appreciated cook at the time, but to have cooked badly on that occasion so that his service would appear proportionate to the low wage he had been hired for. Therefore, the cost of the worker was proportionate to their ability to perform the work assigned to them. In other words, employers “got what they paid for”.

Work terminology in ancient Rome

The concept of work was specifically defined in ancient Rome through these terminologies:

a) Work as a noun was “Opera” in the neuter plural of “Opus”. 

Specifically, Opus meant: “commissioned product/work”, while Opera indicated the “work operations that gave rise to the product itself”.

b) Work as a verb was “Laboro” which can and should be understood with a double meaning:

1. To work hard to achieve a goal, i.e. to commit oneself very hard to achieve the desired result.
2. To work hard not just in spirit but also physically (e.g. in agriculture, which was at the time the largest and most widespread labour commitment).

c) The word worker in the generic sense, as we understand it today, didn’t exist and it was referred to the following terms:

1) ARTIFEX which generally indicated those who created and were masters of artistic activities.

2) OPIFEX which generally indicated all intellectual and manual authors.

3) MERCENNARIUS which generally indicated one who worked for payment or specifically a servant or labourer.

4) OPERAIUS which indicated specifically the activity of a workman.

Regulations and types of employment contracts

As the person who was to do the work was rented to the employer, the agreement used to do it was the “Locatio Conductio”, which regulated the hiring or leasing of that time.

It regulated the work which could be exercised either by: 

1. "submitting to those people who requested the work" 
2.  "working in his own workshop with his own means on behalf of others".

First case was Locatio Conductio Operarum and second case was Locatio Conductio Operis and both of them can be considered real employment contracts of that time. 

The Locatio Conductio Operarum was an agreement whereby the worker (locator operarum, operaius, mercennarius) provided his services to others (conductor operarum, dominus) in return for remuneration.

It was therefore an obligation to give. 

In this type of contract, the worker was paid for the “time spent” - pro tempore - and today this would be similar to what is referred to as an employee.

The Locatio Conductio Operis was an agreement whereby the worker (conductor) undertook with his own tools and his own labour (or that of other persons under his coordination) to perform a service for a client (locator). The client provided the raw materials for the construction of the work (opus). 

It was therefore an obligation to do. 

In this type of contract, the worker was, therefore, paid for the “product supplied” – opus - and today this would be similar to what is referred to as self-employment.

Therefore, an initial and original subdivision can be deduced between employment (Locatio Operarum) and self-employment (Locatio Operis)

Employment contract elements

A typical employment contract in ancient Rome would contain:  

1.The name of the contracting parties

2.The duration of the service

3.The amount of remuneration

4.The date on which it was signed by both parties

5.Other ancillary clauses related to every specific case

In general, the contract of employment was for a specific amount of time (ad certum tempus) and usually the maximum amount of time for a contract was one year. However, it was possible to have a contract with no end date (Locatio in perpetum). 

The work had to be completed on the agreed date (dies operis), after which the operae were lost, they were praeteritae or peritae.

Working time 

Before going any further about working time, it should be reiterated that in ancient Rome, most work was based on agriculture, i.e. it took place in the countryside.

The operae of the liberti (slaves freed by their master through a procedure called manumissio) were called “diurnum officium” - daytime service - so it can be deduced that in general the working day, unless otherwise agreed, was limited to the daylight hours for them. 

It can therefore be asserted that working hours were generally between 8 and 12 hours, at most, for the day worker and the slaves (however, unfortunately, up to the extreme limit of their strength) while it was 7-8 hours for all others (free people working and liberti).

Of course, there was a midday break for a quick lunch (prandium) and another work interruption for the so called meridiatio, which unfortunately was only granted in rare cases for slaves, as it was mainly intended only for free workers. The meridiatio marked the daily end of the activity of independent workers, both craftsmen and professionals. After the end of the working day there was usually body care, which was very important for most ancient Romans, which included bathing first and for those who wanted there were already the first forms of “Palaestre”, known in english as gyms. At the end there was dinner, which could be convivial or frugal, depending of course on economic resources and situations.

Remuneration

Remuneration was mainly referred to as mercès but could be also be called pecunia (es. “dies pecuniae” - Cic. Att.10,5,3 - was the “day for payment of work ”) or pretium (“manu pretium” - Digest - was the “price of the work”). 

The merces normally was paid in money, but could also take a mixed form and consist of money and a ration of food and shelter. Very often, there was the rule that the hiring party - the employer who was the so-called Pater familias - provided not only food and lodging but also clothing for the worker. These rules were part of the Pater familias' habit of taking care of and worrying about all the present and necessary tasks of the family.

The amount of remuneration could be fixed in total for the entire duration of work and paid at the end. Many times an advance was also paid and in this case the wage was usually paid on a daily or monthly basis. 

In the Locatio Operarum the conductor (employer) paid the locator (worker) instead of in the Locatio Operis the locator (the employer) paid the conductor (worker).

Child labour and the "half forces" 

Child labour was widely practised, but limited to light work and service activities such as guarding livestock and pruning vineyards. 

In the agricultural sector the so called half forces were generally the work of women, children and the disabled.

Holiday

In the Roman Empire first century there were already 48 days of holidays, which increased more and more in time.

Among the most important holidays were the “Sementivae”, which were provided specifically for those working in agriculture, during which rest was assured not only for farmers but also for slaves and working animals. 

There were the so-called “Feriae Privatae” that fell on Christmas holidays, anniversaries and expiatory ceremonies. This type of festivity included Saturday in the Jewish environment and Sunday in the Christian environment, a day consecrated to God.

There were also the extraordinary “Feriae Pubblicae” that followed exceptional auspicious events such as victories, anniversaries of the imperial family, and the coronation of a new Emperor.

Strikes 

The earliest forms of strikes took the form of slave “rebellions”. There were three major rebellions, called the “Servile Wars” two of them in Sicily: the first one (135-132BC) on a huge scale - according to Diodorus Siculus - involved more than 200,000 slaves and it was led by Eunus (a former slave self-proclaimed King of Enna) and Cleon from Cilicia. 

The second rebellion (104-100BC) was smaller in number and it was led by Athenion and Tryphon. 

The third and most famous (73-71 BC) involved most of the Italian peninsula and was led by Spartacus which was a Thracian gladiator.

Dismissal 

In ancient Rome, there were no specific rules and regulations on dismissal; in other words, special procedures were not observed as we have today.

If there was no termination date in the employment contract, the worker simply received a sort of notice and his compensation was suspended.

Rarely - in case of suspension of payment - the contract stipulated that the hirer had to pay a penalty.