From Longman Business Dictionarydirect labourdiˌrect ˈlabour British English, direct labor American English1HUMAN RESOURCES workers such as those who operate machines, who are directly involved in the production of goods or services, rather than those involved in organizing or managingThe direct labor work force is up by 60% over last year’s levels.A batch of this product requires four direct-labor hours.Direct labour costs have decreased.2ACCOUNTING the cost of employing workers to make a particular product or provide a particular service. This does not include other costs such as the amount spent on materials etcDirect labor as a percentage of total costs declined throughout this period.3HUMAN RESOURCES in Britain, workers who are employed directly by an organization such as a local government authority, rather than being employed through a separate companya design that could be easily executed by direct labour → labour
