Brussels, 29/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - After five years of negotiations on the working time directive, it is back to square one: as the Parliament and Council failed to reach a compromise over this controversial issue, the 1993 directive must continue to apply. The announcement of this breakdown led to criticism and deep disappointment from the employer, union and political circles of Europe.
The outstanding question is that on-call time continues to be considered as working time, in line with the rulings of the Court of Justice. This is a situation "which will cost the employers and public services dearly, particularly in the healthcare sector", said BusinessEurope, which went on to welcome the fact that the opt out will remain in place (clause allowing the maximum weekly working time of 48 hours to be waived). The opt out is an important contribution to the competitiveness of the European economy. It allows workers to work more than the statutory hours and thereby to increase their salaries. Ernest-Antoine Seillière, president of the employers' association, said that he regretted the fact that the compromise reached at the Council had not been agreed upon by the European Parliament. "The European employers call on the Commission to provide a practical solution to the issue of on-call time", he added. Ralf Reisch, the secretary general of the CEEP, urged the Commission to seek a "new solution, which takes account of the timetable constraints by making a clear reference to inactive on-call time". He takes the view that not counting inactive on-call time is the only way of guaranteeing the secure funding of the principal services of general interest in Europe. In the view of Andrea Benassi, Secretary-General of UEAPME, "small businesses trust the organisation of working time as a vital tool for the internal flexibility of the company and as the best response to the fluctuations of the market, particularly in these times of crisis". He added: "the compromise presented by the Council was far from perfect, but it was an acceptable compromise solution both for employees and employers". Attributing the blame for the breakdown to the "stubborn opposition of the Parliament to the issue of the opt out", Ben Butters, the director of European affairs for Eurochambers, said "the fact that the current directive remains in force will inevitably bring about infringement cases which will be brought before the Court of Justice and will automatically prolong a harmful legal uncertainty in many member states".
This additional failure "is certainly not a victory for social Europe", said John Monks, the secretary general of ETUC (European trade unions), adding that "the opt out should have been suspended and recognized as a temporary exception which has no place in legislation on health and safety". In the view of John Monks, "the challenge today is ensuring that the working time directive resumes its key role in ensuring minimum standards on working time in Europe", an opinion echoed by Dimitris Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL, Greece), who is counting on the Commission and the Council to launch "new attempts to dismantle the working time directive". The GUE/NGL fully supports the action days organised by the European trade unions from 14 to 17 May 2009 on the theme "Fight the Crisis- Put People First". Mr Papadimoulis added that "the priority must be given to reconciling family and professional life by means of an overall reduction in working time without any drop in salary". (G.B./transl.fl)