EU to debate Working Time Directive

The European Parliament is beginning a debate of the Working Time Directive today.

The directive, which limits the working week in the EU to 48 hours on average, is being debated as part of a ten-year review following its introduction in 1993.

Britain is widely expected to lobby in favour of the retention of an opt-out clause, which allows workers to choose to work more than 48 hours if they wish to do so.

The UK is the only EU country that allows all workers to sign away their right to work no more than 48 hours per work, which the Trades Union Congress (TUC) says is “regularly abused”.

The European Parliament will debate proposals drawn up by Spanish MEP Alejandro Cercas Alonso including: the phasing out of the individual opt-out over three years; counting time spent ‘on call’ at work; and giving employers the right to have requests to vary their hours considered seriously by employers.

The Parliament will also debate a proposal to all the working week to be averaged over a year, rather than the current 17 weeks, which would still allow people to work more than 48 hours, as long as their average working week was less than 48 hours. There is also a proposal to introduce safeguards to ensure the health and safety of workers and the public are not put at risk.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “This issue has been deadlocked for too long. The European Parliament should accept this sensible compromise. It certainly does not go as far as we would like, but it does meet the key objection from most employers who encourage their staff to sign an opt-out.

“Employers say that they need the flexibility to be able to cope with the peaks and troughs of workload. An annual average does precisely this. If they are forcing staff to work more than 48 hours week in week out, then there is something very wrong with that workplace and a real risk to the long-term health of the workforce. That is not flexibility, but severe overwork and appalling productivity.”

Mr Barber said that the end of the opt-out clause would help to tackle the problems of the long working hours culture in Britain.

However, the UK Engineering Employer’s Federation (EEF) described the amendments as “damaging” and said that they would remove a “vital component of the flexibility of the UK labour market”.

EEF Deputy Director of Employment Policy, David Yeandle said: “We would urge all UK MEPs to reject these damaging amendments to the Commission's proposal that would remove the individual opt out and undermine the UK’s labour market flexibility. The government must continue to stand firm and eyeball to eyeball with Brussels on this important issue.”

(KMcA/SP)