ETUC expresses profound concern about proposed compromise on the Working Time Directive
An extraordinary meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and and Consumer Affairs Council convenes on 7 November in an attempt to find a political agreement on revision of the Working Time Directive. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is unable to give its support to the proposals currently on the table and calls on the Finnish Presidency to strive for a deal that better safeguards the health and safety of European workers.
ETUC General Secretary John Monks has yesterday written to the Finnish Minister of Labour Mrs Tarja Filatov expressing grave concern about the proposals linked to the revision of the Working Time Directive, going before the Council on Tuesday.
The fact that there is an overall reduction in protection without proper safeguards, and in particular that there is no end-date to the opt-out, leads the ETUC to take the view that it cannot give support to the proposals currently on the table.
“The ETUC is disappointed that the current set of proposals falls short of a proper balance between flexibility and security and is therefore not offering citizens and workers in Europe an acceptable and sustainable deal on modernisation and innovation of the organisation of working time,” declared ETUC John Monks.
Annex: Letter to Mrs Tarja Filatov, Finnish Minister of Labour
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