Jean Lambert, the Green Party MEP for London has spoken out against a Council of Ministers decision today to formalise the UK opt-out of the 48 hour working week limit in the Working Time Directive. The long-awaited compromise position on the work package also extends the reference period to one year and concludes that time spent on-call is not included in working time.
In May 2005, MEPs overwhelmingly agreed to phase-out the exemptions from the Working Time Directive by 2012. They also agreed that the time workers spend "on call" while not working should be regarded as proper "working time" in terms of rest period calculation.
Jean Lambert MEP, who is a member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee in the European Parliament said:
"I look forward to this issue coming back to the European Parliament later in the year and I expect that it will be very hard for MEPs to accept this compromise position. It is a huge disappointment that the opt-out of the Working Time Directive requirement has not been over-turned.
"The Directive is a health and safety measure: long working hours, or interrupted sleep patterns while on call, put people at risk. Tired workers are a danger to themselves and to others. No Government should be putting flexibility ahead of health."
However, there was some good news for temporary and agency workers. The agreement establishes the general principal of rights for temporary workers from day one, as currently exists in some other EU states. But the adopted text also makes it possible for member states to agree exemptions, such as the 12-week period that the UK government has negotiated, during which conditions for temp workers are not the same as for permanent staff.
Jean Lambert continued:
"This package signals some progress for temporary and agency workers at last , but it looks as if their gain has been traded off against keeping the Working Time opt-out. Parliament may not take the same approach."