EU fails again to agree disputed work bills
LUCIA KUBOSOVA
06.12.2007 @ 10:25 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Union has approved general principles on combining flexibility and workers' protection in labour laws but has once again failed to agree on the two concrete legislative proposals tackling both goals - working time rules and the rights of temporary agency workers.
A revision of working time rules is wanted by most states mainly due to the situation in health sector (Photo: wikipedia)
The Portuguese EU presidency's last ditch attempt to get a breakthrough on the two contentious laws at a meeting of social affairs ministers on Wednesday (5 December) failed, mainly due to Britain's opposition to a compromise plan concerning temporary work rules.
But the moderator of talks, Jose Antonio Vieira da Silva of Portugal, maintained that because there was progress in member states' positions, "all the necessary conditions are there for us to be able to together achieve what we are all aiming towards" next year.
He was referring to the fact that, apart from the UK, most other countries agreed with the "integrated approach" on the two bills introduced by Lisbon.
Under the compromise tabled by Portugal, member states would continue to be allowed to let employees work longer hours than set by EU limits – on average, 48 hours per week - by keeping their 'opt-out' from the threshold.
At the same time, there would be a general EU rule that workers hired by firms from agencies would have the same rights and pay as regular employees from their first day at work, or no longer than six weeks later.
As a result of combining the two laws, a group of countries led by France who had previously staunchly opposed the 48-hour opt-out favoured by the UK had agreed that it could be kept, even without a guarantee of it being phased out in the future.
But the Paris-led camp conditioned their green light on Britain's support for the compromise on agency workers which Britain, along with Ireland and Malta strongly opposed.
Instead, London suggested that agency workers should only get equal treatment after working for six months in a company. The British government exerted top level political pressure to prevent itself being outvoted.
After a working lunch and over an hour of public debate on Wednesday afternoon, the Portuguese moderator of the talks announced he would not put the matter to a vote but rather leave both dossiers for the forthcoming presidencies – Slovenia and then France.
Speaking to journalists later, Mr Vieira da Silva claimed that ministers had made "considerable headway in the European debate on these two Directives."
He also highlighted the agreement at the same meeting of a list of general statements on the need to combine flexibility of labour markets and security of workers in EU economies.
This so-called "flexicurity" approach of the bloc is seen as the core principle of Europe's social model.
But Portuguese socialist minister said "it is not understandable and neither acceptable" that despite committing themselves to these common principles member states have not been able to agree on two EU laws which deal with just these issues.