THE GREENS/EFA IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PRESS RELEASE – Strasbourg, 10 May 2005

 

Working time directive:

Greens stand alone in call to end opt-out

MEPs are on the verge of adopting a report on working time that would see an historic review of European employment legislation. The Cercas report contains a key measure which could remove the controversial opt-out clause. Parliamentarians today debated this move along with other proposals to strengthen definitions of 'time on-call' so that employees are fairly compensated for time that is not their own. The Greens have consistently argued that because long hours are proven to threaten health and safety, the opt-out must be abolished and on-call time must be classed as working time.

 

 Jean Lambert, UK MEP and Greens/EFA co-ordinator of the European Parliament's employment committee, slammed misleading arguments used by some MEPs, saying:

 

 "It has been argued that this directive enables Europe to dictate our British hours, taking choice away from the employee. But figures from the UK's Trades Union Congress show that only one third of employees working longer than 48 hours have even been asked to sign the opt-out and many were not even aware that it was voluntary! If we fail to remove this dangerous get out clause, then the choice lies not with the employee but with the employer." 

 

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's vote in the Parliament, Lambert said: 

 

"The culture of long hours is spreading; it no longer a UK specific problem. In the EU, Ireland tops the long-hours table, followed by the UK and then Portugal. Unlike the European Commission, I believe that instead of making comparisons with the US we can learn more from European best-practice. In a country like Britain, where workers are often not in unions, the law must protect their interests. Of course, there will be cases where extra hours need to be worked but the report makes allowances for this, so it would be the exception not the rule." 

 

She concluded: 

"The fact is that the Commission and the European Court of Justice recognise that this is a health and safety directive. We do not tolerate opt-outs in other health and safety laws so why should we treat this one differently? We talk in Britain about the importance of eating well and avoiding stress yet we fail to realise that instead of demonstrating commitment to the job, long hours equals more time with your doctor! If we want a vibrant society with active citizens and engagement in community life, we must address this aspect of social health."