Following over a year’s consultations, the EU Executive adopted a document last week, asking the social partners concerned (representatives of employers and of workers) to reform some “crucial” aspects of the directive on working hours, in force since 1993. According to the document, the aspects on which the negotiation ought to focus are the following: “The conditions for the application of the renunciation of the 48-hour working week; the implications of recent court sentences by virtue of which the time spent in service should be calculated as working hours; and the period on the basis of which the average of the weekly limit of 48 hours is calculated”. EU Commissioner for social affairs, Stavros Dimas, declared that the reform is essential to “guarantee simultaneously to workers the protection of their health and safety, and to companies the flexibility they need to remain competitive”. The attention of Brussels is also been focused on measures aimed at better reconciling work and family.
