Brussels, 24/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 24 March, the European Commission invited the European social partners to express their opinions on the broad outlines of the revision of EU working time rules. In this first phase of consultation, the European social partners will state whether they believe that action on the working time directive is needed at EU level and if so, what its scope should be. It constitutes a first step towards an in-depth re-examination of the directive and comes further to the deadlock of previous attempts to revise existing legislation in April 2008.
At a meeting with a small group of journalists, the commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion, László Andor, announced a legislative proposal on this subject for the end of 2010, which will include a new chapter involving all interested parties in a new dialogue, to start with the social consequences of the working time legislation and the fact that this is a sensitive issue within the healthcare sector. Having met representatives of the British employers' association (CBI) last week to discuss, amongst other things, the all-important issue of the opt-out, Commissioner Andor stated that a solution would be found on this issue very soon. "We still need to find a balanced solution corresponding to the genuine needs of the workers, businesses and consumers in the 21st century. We must carry out a full re-examination of the rules, on the basis of an in-depth impact analysis with a strong social dimension", Andor declared, calling on the social partners to present "innovative proposals going beyond the debates which have remained unsuccessful in the past" (our translation). (G.B./transl.fl)