For some time now, Euro MPs have been insistent they want to see the UK’s opt-out clause phased out over three years, but current talks involving MEPs, Member States and the European Commission have failed to reach agreement on the ‘correct’ way forward.
The European Commission in particular has expressed “sore disappointment” at the failure to reach agreement, and has suggested that it will now be “consulting on the best way to proceed”.
MEPs sat down to discussions in Strasbourg last December aimed at ending the opt-out – which is designed to prevent workers from being exploited – but the UK and other Member States opposed the move.
Talks fail to reach agreement
That vote placed the European Parliament at odds with the Council of Ministers which, in June last year, had decided the 48-hour opt-out ought to remain but with the proviso that there would be a 60-hour ‘ceiling’.
Detailed talks in Brussels aimed at finding a solution broke down after it was agreed that the differences between opposing factions were “too great be resolved”.
Now, it will be down to the European Commission to decide whether or not it wishes to put forward new legislative proposals.
Speaking about the matter, the Commission’s employment and social affairs mandarin Vladimir Spidla is quoted as saying: “The likely outcome is that more and not fewer Member States will start using the opt-out. This is not something I would wish to see happen.”
View from the CBI and the CIPD
UK organisations – among them the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) – have always stood by the opt-out, suggesting time and again that it’s good for business by dint of the fact that it allows employees the flexibility to choose how long they wish to work.
Commenting on the latest announcement, CBI chief John Cridland hailed the decision as “a victory for common sense”. Cridland added: “We welcome the retention of the opt-out. It allows people to make their own decisions about the hours they work. Keeping the opt-out is a victory for common sense, and is good news for the UK’s economy.”
In another official statement, Mike Emmott – employee relations advisor at the CIPD – explained: “The British Government and its allies are to be congratulated for seeing off attempts to remove the opt-out. That said, employers should always review the need for working arrangements that require employers to work consistently long hours. Such arrangements can have corrosive effects on employees’ health, relationships and performance.”
Emmott went on to state: “There’s a strong business case for having healthy, happy and ultimately more productive and effective employees. However, this doesn’t mean that employees who choose to work long hours should be prevented from doing so. Our research has shown that long-hours workers support the opt-out. We’re pleased that this argument has won the day, and that the opt-out is no longer under threat.”
Unions take a different stance
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber feels the Government still needs to tighten working time laws, otherwise the EU could take it to Court in order to protect UK workers from abuse of the 48-hour week.
Indeed, the Trade Unions have constantly referred to the fact that the UK has the longest working hours of any country in Europe. A fact that, in turn, gives rise to more workplace accidents and hinders productivity levels rather than improving them.
Official word from the Government
“We have consistently said that we would not give up the opt-out, and that continues to be the case,” commented employment relations minister Pat McFadden.
“In the current downturn, it’s more important than ever that individuals retain the right to put more money in their pockets by working longer hours. Ending the opt-out would have been a bad deal for us.”
For his part, business secretary Lord Mandelson has said that he’s “relieved we have been able to resist removal of the opt-out clause”.
The UK’s opt-out was first negotiated in 1993, but has long been controversial. Fourteen states other than the UK have some form of negotiated opt-out from the limit imposed on working hours.