Yesterday Euro MPs voted in favour of ending Britain’s opt-out from the EU working time directive. This means that in the future, unless the Government here can negotiate a compromise, UK employees will have to comply with EU rules that limit working time to 48 hours per week. The UK’s opt out was negotiated by John Major when he was Prime Minister and was seen as an important sign of Britain’s independence from Europe at the time. On the other hand, one could argue that it perpetuated the long hours culture by making it statutory and sending the wrong messages to millions of workers.
In this sense, I welcome the vote in Europe as it sends out all of the right messages to UK employers and employees now – who should both now be thinking about ways to take responsibility for the number of hours that they work and the work-life balance that they achieve. I realise that this is a tough time to be saying this because many will be working all the hours they can in an effort to make ends meet this Christmas – but we have to think beyond the current economic climate
Opponents of the 48 hour Working Time Directive (remember this isn’t a maximum of 48 hours in any one week, but averaged over a 17 week period), see it as reducing flexibility of the UK’s labour market. However, long-term this is the way that we need to go as a country – the increased productivity and attendance that comes from working in a more balanced way vastly outweighs that which will be lost by working fewer hours each week. A decision is expected early next year, but in any case changes in the law will not come into force for three years – so this really is a strategic issue for the health of the nation and one which we should take seriously.
I’ll leave the last word to a union General Secretary whose comments were reported by the BBC: “Tired, overstretched workers are not productive workers and are putting themselves and others at risk, such as in the transport industry where we know, for instance, that tired drivers are more dangerous than drunk drivers.”
Watch this space!!
Read the BBC coverage at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7786825.stm
