UK opt out from 48 weekly working limit safe as Working Time Talks Collapse

12.17.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 28th Apr 2009

Euro MPs and the representatives of EU Member States held last minute negotiations last night in an attempt to reach an agreement on the EU working time rules in a formal conciliation committee meeting that went on until the early hours. In what was viewed by many to be make or break talks, no deal was reached. The deadline will shortly pass for a deal to be reached so the proposal to remove the UK's Opt Out of the 48 hour weekly limit falls.

The discussions come following a vote by the European Parliament in favour of proposals to scrap the opt-out from the 48 hour limit of the European Working Time Directive, currently being used by 15 Member States including the UK.

Lib Dem Liz Lynne MEP, who is Vice President of the European Parliament's Employment and Social Affairs Committee and the only UK shadow rapporteur for the Working Time Directive for any political party, on behalf of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe Group, has campaigned for years to keep the opt out and said today:

"I have always argued that the opt out of the 48 hour limit in the Working Time Directive should be retained so long as it is truly voluntary. Workers should be allowed to earn overtime if they wish to.

"Scrapping the opt would push people into illegal work where they would not be covered by Health and Safety legislation including the dangerous machinery directive."

"My hope now is that we will see a far more sensible proposal in the future that deals with the health sector alone, it was only ever in this area that we needed changes following rulings from the European Courts."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Last nights conciliation meeting was the third meeting under the conciliation process, whereby the Parliament and the Council of Ministers has 6 weeks to reach an agreement on a revised text of the current working time directive.

Liz Lynne MEP is Vice President of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee in the European Parliament.