Brussels, 06/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - The “no progress” of the Council on Employment and Social Policy when it comes to working time, last Thursday in Luxembourg, disappointed the European social partners. And for good reason: - the changes proposed by the European Commission on opt-out and calculation of the reference period for the maximum 48-hour working week (see EUROPE 8961).
On the employers' side, the change in the Commission's stance in favour of doing away with opt-out three years after implementation of the 1993 directive on working time in the Member States, was considered “unacceptable”. Why? Because “the flexibility of the opt-out is essential for companies. The opt-out should be retained and should be available by two independent means: either by collective agreement or by individual consent as opposed to a combination of both”, commented Philippe de Buck, General Secretary of UNICE (employers), followed by Christoph Leitl, Eurochambers President.
On the trade union side, John Monks, General Secretary for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), stressed the Council's lack of courage to move along the lines wanted by the European Parliament (EUROPE 8945). Furthermore, the representatives of EPSU (European (European federation of Public Service Unions), ETUC and ETF (European Transport Federation) - which had met Luxembourg Minister François Biltgen on the sidelines of the Council - also strongly criticised the Council's inability to make the debate on working time move forward. Carola Fischbach-Pyttel, EPSU General Secretary, noted the fact that the ministers did not have time to look at the amended proposal presented by Commissioner Spidla (see EUROPE 8960) and said: “For the Council to use this as an excuse for inaction is cynical in the extreme”. To this, Cateline Passchier, ETUC Confederal Secretary, added: “As usual, when it comes to social rights for EU citizens, the Council finds it difficult to even move a little”. Sabine Trier, Director of ETF “Rail”, said her organisation “would be pushing for European action on working time”.
Extension of the 12-month reference period, on the other hand, was perceived in a better light, as long as it provides additional flexibility during seasonal adjustments, when the demand for labour is enormous, which has a certain advantage for SMEs, Christoph Leitl (Eurochambers) noted. Accounting over a period of one year should be the “general rule”, Philippe de Buck (UNICE) added, as long as this can be extended, either by collective agreement or by simply leaving it up to national social partners, or allowing the national legislator to take a free decision. John Monks (ETUC) notes that only a blocking minority headed by the United Kingdom persists. He finds it incomprehensible that Germany is currently in the British camp. ETUC will therefore call on the Summit of 16 and 17 June in Brussels to give priority to this vital measure in order to gain positive moves forward by the end of the Luxembourg Presidency.