Brussels, 07/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - The 48-hour week will soon be the norm for inland waterway crews and on-board staff, after the European Commission presented a draft directive on working time on Monday 7 July, following on from the agreement previously establishedbetween the social partners.
Under the draft directive, total working time cannot exceed 48 hours per week, though this could be averaged over up to 12 months. Total night working time cannot exceed 42 hours per week. Workers will be entitled to at least four weeks' annual paid leave and annual health checks. Workers will also be entitled to at least 10 hours' rest per day (with at least six hours uninterrupted) and to at least 84 hours' rest in total every week. These rules were negotiated in February 2012 by the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), for the workers, and the European Barge Union (EBU) and the European Skippers' Organisation (ESO), representing the employers' side. The agreement required that the Commission turn the terms into a directive to be submitted to the Council, in order to ensure effective implementation of the agreement.
Although the working time directive applies to all workers, some parts of the legislation do not apply to the transport sector. This is why social partners have introduced flexible provisions reflecting the specificity of the different trades in the inland waterways (sailors as well as cooks and maintenance staff) which impose other working time arrangements and often require workers to be mobile and live away from home. This legislation on working time in the inland waterway sector complements the other directives that derive from the agreements between the social partners in maritime transport, civil aviation and the railways.
European Commissioner for Social Affairs Lazlo Andor said that it was logical that EU-level rules are introduced because more than 75% of inland waterway transport in the European Union is transnational. He was also delighted that, as an independent initiative from sectoral-level European social partners, the agreement on working time in the EU waterways sector is an “excellent example of successful social dialogue”. He also felt that satisfactory working conditions and adequate rest times, “adapted to working on inland waterways, are essential for the health and safety of crews and shipboard personnel, and thereby for safety of transport”. (MD)