Working time: Greens support flexibility, but not on health & safety

Fresh negotiations have started between the European Parliament, Council and Commission to reach a common position on the Working Time Directive. The European Parliament voted to end the UK's opt-out from the Directive in December 2008, given concerns over health and safety related to long working hours.

London Green MEP, Jean Lambert, a Member of the European Parliament's Employment Committee, commented:

"Greens support the European Parliament position on working time, which already allows a good degree of flexibility for both workers and employers. Parliament must not extend this spirit of flexibility too far in its negotiations with an uncompromising Council: there must be no opt-outs on health and safety legislation. Opt-outs endanger workers and the public.

"Parliament has already found a solution on on-call time for emergency services that eliminates the need for opt-outs. Given that "on-call time" refers only to periods where a person must be at the workplace, it would be completely unreasonable to assert that this can be defined as rest or free time.

"A 48 hour average working week allows enough flexibility to cope with peak demands of work, while respecting the health and safety of workers and those around them."