Compromise on working time opt-outs ‘a lost cause’

By Anna McLauchlin

Date: 01/12/05

EU employment ministers will revisit the controversial issue of whether to let member states opt out of limits on employees' working time on Thursday (8 December). But with two opposing compromise texts already on the table for the Employment Council, agreement still seems out of reach.

Diplomats have been working behind the scenes in recent weeks on a new compromise from the UK presidency, which would allow member states to retain an opt-out from the 48-hour working week, but also let those who wish to do so to rule out the possibility.

The compromise is more accommodating of the opt-out than the European Commission's revised 2004 proposal, which would have phased out the opt-out after three years of the implementation of the directive, but given the EU executive the right to extend the opt-out if a member state argued that it was appropriate for 'labour market reasons'.

But member states are almost cleanly divided in their views on the opt-out. On Friday (25 November), France and Sweden put forward a joint compromise text which would allow the opt-out only as part of a proper EU legislative process (comitology) and which would only apply to certain sectors already outlined in the Commission's proposal as eligible for exemption from limited working hours, such as healthcare, tourism or security.

France has led calls to scrap the opt-out, arguing that it lowers social standards in Europe. It is supported by the European Parliament, which voted in May to scrap the opt-out entirely after three years.

"The UK's compromise text is not an acceptable text for us and is not really a compromise, as it stays pretty close to the UK delegation's position," said a French official.

The official said that Spain, Greece, Portugal, Belgium and Luxembourg supported the Franco-Swedish text.

But the UK, which led the blocking minority at the last Council meeting in June, which resulted in the current stalemate, will not accept any solution that does not retain the opt-out.

"We will do our best to get an agreement," said a UK official, "but we shouldn't underestimate the difficulty of doing so."

Also tackled in the compromise is whether 'on-call' time - for example when doctors are obliged to stay available for work although they may not be needed - should be treated as working time.

MEPs voted to recognise all on-call time as working time in May, but the 25 member states are worried about the impact such a proposal would have on their healthcare budgets.

Article anticipates the meeting of the EU's Employment Council on 8 December 2005. Employment ministers were to revisit the controversial issue of whether to let member states opt out of limits on employees' working time. Author suggests that with two opposing compromise texts already on the table agreement still seemed out of reach.