Brussels 03/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - The Employment and Social Policy Council held on 2 June in Luxembourg has resulted in the status quo being maintained on the issue of “working time”. Faced with a lack of time in which to examine the issue, delegations maintained their positions on the opt-out, the reference period and on on-call time (EUROPE 8960). They were thus unable to react to a warning from Commissioner Vladimir Spidla, who said in presenting his amended proposal that “the status quo is not a solution” and “a compromise is the only possibility for a good solution” that would allow the interests of the Parliament and the Council to be met. All agreed, however, to pursue efforts to reach a compromise as soon as possible. The amended proposal was “a good balance between flexibility and security for workers from the point of view of their jobs and their health”, said Commissioner Spidla in explaining the changes to the directive of 23 November 2003 proposed by the Commission in light of the opinion issued by the EP in mid-May (EUROPE 8943-8947): 1) Opt-out (clause allowing an opt-out from the maximum 48-hour working week): - expiry of the opt-out three years after implementation of the directive in member states (usually three years after adoption, so probably in 2012); however, “for reasons linked to the functioning of its labour market” a member state may ask permission to extend the opt-out beyond 2012, and the Commission must provide a justification of its response; - the opt-out must be established through collective bargaining or national legislation; - workers on an opt-out regime may not work more than 55 hours per week (as opposed to 65 previously), the maximum accepted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). This point is a step in the direction of the EP's demands. The Commission's approach aims to guarantee workers' health protection; 2) Reference period: - the Commission proposes extending the period for calculating the working week to twelve months (as opposed to four at present). In this case, member states must ensure that employers inform and consult their workers over the introduction of such a period and take steps to avoid any risks to their health. “Annualising this period gives businesses greater flexibility. It covers all seasonal fluctuations where a large number of hours are worked over a short period of time”; 3) On-call time: - the Commission proposes that the inactive part of on-call time should not be counted as working time but stresses that it is not rest either. Inactive periods cannot be taken into account in calculating daily rest (Article 3 of the 1993 directive stipulates that in every 24-hour period workers must have at least 11 consecutive hours of rest) and weekly rest (Article 5 of the 1993 directive stipulates that in every seven-day period, every worker must have a minimum uninterrupted rest period of 24 hours in addition to the 11 hours stipulated in Article 3); 4) Compatibility between working and family life: - to improve this, the Commission proposes in a new Article (2(d)) that the employer inform employees in good time of any changes in the organisation of working time, and that workers may request changes to their working hours and patterns. This point was a significant amendment introduced by the EP, said Mr Spidla.