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work-to-rule. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
work-to-rule, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
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English
Etymology
Deverbal from work to rule.
Noun
work-to-rule (plural work-to-rules)
- 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
Adjective
work-to-rule (not comparable)
- Of or pertaining to such a protest.
2008 June 11, “EL doctors threaten ‘work to rule’ action”, in Dispatch Online, 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.