Opinion on working time

(96/C 18/15)

The Economic and Social Committee decided on 23 February 1995, in accordance with Article 23(3) of its Rules of Procedure, to draw up an Opinion on working time.

The Section for Social, Family, Educational and Cultural Affairs, which was responsible for the preparatory work, adopted its Opinion on 17 July 1995. The Rapporteur was Mrs van den Burg. The Co-Rapporteur was Mr Whitworth.

At its 329th Plenary Session (meeting of 25 October 1995), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following Opinion by a majority with 12 votes against and 17 abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1. Radical re-thinking is taking place on the subject of working time. By the end of the millennium the conventional five-day/forty hour working week is likely to be the exception rather than the norm. More diversified working patterns will evolve.

1.2. In this Own-initiative Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee the issue of working time will be approached from the following angles:

- the reorganization and extension of operating time in the production process and of opening time in the services, and the accompanying flexible scheduling of employees' working time, with a view to improving productivity, service to consumers, and competitiveness;

- the reduction of working time of the individual worker, with a view to improving the quality of life, especially as regards health and safety, extension and redistribution of time for family and caring tasks and increase of leisure time;

- the potential contribution which reduction and reorganization of working time can make to job creation and redistribution and thus to the reduction of unemployment, the key priority of the European Union.

1.3. The Opinion is part of the Economic and Social Committee's contribution to help develop more effective European policies for employment.

1.4. Since the social partners are the main actors negotiating working time arrangements at decentralized levels, they must have a key role in the development of effective European and national employment policies in this field.

2. Labour market developments

2.1. The demand side of the labour market is influenced by the internationalization of markets and subsequent competition, by the acceleration of technological developments and by more rapidly fluctuating consumer demands, leading to shorter payback periods of investment and flexibility in the deployment of people and resources. Employees are expected to be more broadly employable. Amongst other things, this may lead to working patterns that are more adapted to fluctuations in the demand for labour and to adjustment of business hours in enterprises and branches.

2.1.1. Working patterns are becoming less and less 'standard'; the full-time working week with fixed working days from Monday morning to Friday afternoon has become less and less common and suitable in those industrial and (private and public) service branches, which up until now normally do not have regular working patterns. Many flexible and part-time jobs have arisen especially in the services sectors. Frequent overtime and shift work are more and more common in the production sectors.

2.2. The supply side of the labour market is influenced by changes in the demographic composition of the working population and especially the changing patterns of participation of women and of older and younger workers; this participation is increasingly on a part-time basis, be it combined with education, with pre-pension schemes, or (also for a growing number of young fathers) with taking care of small children.

2.2.1. Various studies () show that considerable and fast-growing numbers of workers wish to work less than a full-time week. Besides the pro rata loss of income, there are other important barriers to achieving the desired reductions of individual working hours: fear of loss of career developments or of training opportunities, pro rata loss of pension rights and in some instances of social security rights, and a cultural environment which is often hostile to (especially male workers) who prefer to work less hours.

2.2.2. Another feature appearing from research on working time preferences is that they vary during a lifetime, being influenced by circumstances in the personal life of the worker (parenthood, educational needs, extra-professional, political or sporting activities); preferences have a temporary character and are no longer 'fixed-for-life'. This means that there is also a greater differentiation and diversification in desired working time patterns between individual workers.

2.2.3. It should also be noted that new working time patterns are not always 'voluntary'. Many part-time jobs are low paid and cannot provide the individual worker with enough income; some part-time workers have more than one part-time job, whilst many part-time workers are underemployed. Whereas some full-time workers would prefer to work less, many part-time workers would prefer to work more hours.

2.3. These changes in both demand and the supply of labour imply that management of working time (both with respect to the number and the scheduling of hours) has become an important feature in negotiations between employers and workers, collectively and at the individual level.

3. Employment effects of changes in working time

3.1. At the macroeconomic level a more suitable matching of workers' and employers' needs seems to be a major instrument in steering labour market and employment. Data from various studies show that the 'voluntary' requests for a reduction of working hours by workers could readjust a substantial part of the demand for work from the unemployed even taking account of the extra demand for working hours from 'underemployed' part-time workers.

3.1.1. A reduction and redistribution of work does not necessarily have negative effects on productivity; on the contrary, if it is dovetailed accurately with the flexibility demands of the production process and with possible reorganization of work schedules and patterns, a substantial productivity growth and an increase of competitiveness might result, which as such might improve the employment situation.

3.1.2. Such a redistribution and increase of employment could also lead to savings in unemployment benefit and a broader financial basis for social security expenditure and tax income.

3.2. The subject of working time has received more and more attention in recent international macro-economic studies. The OECD Jobs Study (1994) and the recently issued follow-up study (May 1995) (), focus on 'de-standardising' working and operating hours, and on the necessary adaptation of arrangements for daily, weekly, annual and life-time working hours to meet both enterprise requirements and worker aspirations.

3.3. The White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness, Employment considered that a 'generalized reduction in working hours and job-sharing at national level' was not, as also is the case for other singular methods, a 'miracle cure', and could 'result in a slowing down of production due to the difficulty of striking the right balances between the demand for skilled workers, the optimum utilization of plant and the supply of labour. While rejecting a 'top-down', mandatory approach seeking to legislate for a shorter working week', it did, however, recognise the need to 'remove obstacles to already changing trends, preferences and demands of employees and employers regarding patterns and hours of working which will increase the number of jobs for given levels of output'. Specific actions proposed included:

- 'adjusting the legal framework so that those who are willing, and often keen, to work shorter hours do not suffer loss of social protection or poorer conditions of service';

- 'encouraging the national cyclical trends towards a shorter working week per employee, where appropriate, while increasing utilization of capital equipment and ensuring competitiveness' ().

3.3.1. The Essen European Council of December 1994 highlighted the increase of the employment-intensiveness of growth in its medium-term action plan for sustainable growth and jobs. In this framework the Council called for a 'more flexible organization of work in a way which fulfils both the wishes of the employees and the requirements of competition' ().

3.3.2. The Council of Ministers' Resolution of 6 December 1994 likewise considered that 'improving the organization and flexibility of working hours' formed part of an 'active employment policy' and stated that an 'effective policy of equal opportunities presupposes an integrated, overall strategy allowing for better organization of working hours and greater flexibility' (). It also recognized that new working time arrangements were a 'social requirement which will offer both men and women an opportunity to reconcile their work responsibilities with their family obligations and personal interests' ().

3.3.3. The tripartite Standing Committee for Employment, at its meeting of 22 September 1994 discussed the role of part-time work in job creation. In the conclusions of the President (the German Labour Minister Norbert Blum) both the attractiveness of part-time work for employees and employers was stressed, as was the necessity of protection and equal treatment of part-time workers.

3.4. In its recently issued Medium Term Social Action Programme (1995-1997) (), the European Commission announces further studies and activities on working time and work organization and productivity, the presentation of specific communications, including good practice guidelines on different aspects of flexibility and work organization, and states that it considers the scope for a Green Paper on reduction and reorganization of working time (1996-1997) (). According to the Commission, the consultation of social partners under the Agreement on Social Policy will take place in the second half of this year on the blocked proposals for a Directive on part-time, from the perspective of job creation.

3.5. The European Parliament has recently again taken up the issue of the reduction of working time in a draft Report and motion for a Resolution drawn up by Mr Michel Rocard (). The Document identifies 5 'methods' for encouraging a reduction of working hours: over a lifetime, during the year or on a weekly basis: gradual retirement, voluntary part-time work, reducing overtime, reducing the maximum length of the working week and the allocation of working time to education and training. In the activities that will be recommended to the Commission, the encouragement of negotiations between Member States and both sides of industry appear to be highlighted.

3.6. The Joint opinion of 16 May 1995 on turning recovery into a sustained and job-creating growth process, drawn up by the macroeconomic Group of the 'European Social Dialogue' also recommended that the social partners examine, at the appropriate levels, whether employment can be promoted without endangering competitiveness through the allocation of productivity gains to contribute to innovative forms of work such as reorganization, reduction and new patterns of working time.

4. Some elements for the debate on reduction and reorganization of working time

In the following paragraphs some observations and analyses are presented which might be relevant to the European debate on reduction and reorganization of working time, and which in their specific national or local, enterprise- or branch-level context might offer a contribution to job creation and reduction of unemployment.

4.1. The relation of working time to productivity and its consequences for wage costs and incomes

4.1.1. The relation between a reduction of working hours and the development of productivity may be a positive one. Experiences with relatively small, collectively agreed, reductions of working hours, that have been collectively carried out in a number of European countries in recent years show that productivity gains have offset a substantial part of the vacant hours, although the reduction has contributed to a significant increase and preservation of employment volume.

4.1.2. Negotiations on the reduction and reorganization of working time should have as one of their objectives a cost-neutral or a positive effect on a competitiveness.

4.1.3. Depending on accompanying changes in the organization of work and especially in business hours, reductions of working hours per employee do not necessarily have to lead to corresponding productivity loss; they may even lead to productivity gains. Labour productivity outputs are higher during the first hours and decrease with each succeeding hour. An enlargement of business hours, for instance through the introduction of shifts and/or more adequate scheduling of personnel, may result in more optimal usage of capital equipment, faster investment cycles, etc. and thus improve productivity and competitiveness.

4.1.4. The level of wage costs does not necessarily have to rise when the number of hours worked per employee decreases, and consequently collectively agreed reductions of working hours do not necessarily have to be accompanied by proportionate pay losses. A starting point in many negotiations is the use - fully or partly - of productivity gains for a reduction of working hours. This will also serve the macroeconomic objective - stated in the Delors White Paper - of keeping wage increases within the limits of productivity growth.

4.1.5. Consequently, these limits also define the possible range of collective reductions in working time, since loss of (monthly or weekly) pay is not an attractive option for workers and trade union negotiators. Only in exceptional cases, where alternatively loss of jobs are at stake, agreements have been concluded that imply more or less modest losses of pay or other financial benefits.

4.2. The reduction of working time in relation to redundancies

4.2.1. Recent history has shown several examples of solutions to redundancy measures, through reductions in the amount of the hours worked by employees. Redundancies in those cases (of which the Volkswagen case in Germany has had most attention internationally) were not handled through the collective dismissal of a certain percentage of the workforce, but through a reduction of the working time per employee with (about) that percentage. Such solutions can not rightfully be unilaterally enforced upon workers, as they imply a change in the individual contract that affects jobs and income security, covered by protection against dismissal. In collective agreements however some deteriorations are sometimes accepted for the purpose of preventing dismissals. It is important to note that in these cases only collective agreements may rightfully over-rule individual contracts of employees covered by these agreements.

4.2.2. In negotiating the cost-benefits involved, a balance is sought. There are, for example, advantages in avoiding redundancy payments. Another advantage for businesses in this type of solution is the availability of a potential reserve of trained and experienced workers to fill future vacancies, or to allow for an easy increase in production if demand goes up. In other words the result can be greater flexibility (e.g. Volkswagen), rather than the rigid 'solution' of dismissals.

4.2.3. In some European states unemployment benefit schemes provide for the incidence of 'part time unemployment'. If applied in situations where the decrease in demand for labour has a more structural character, it becomes more difficult to distinguish such 'part time unemployment' from part time jobs that are not the voluntary choice of workers, but an expression of underemployment. Policies in Member States vary on this point, and are in a process of development. From the internal market point of view, European guidelines might be useful.

4.3. The relation between developments in working hours and segregation on the labour market between 'men's work' and 'women's work'

4.3.1. Part-time work is in most countries predominantly done by women. This is the case for voluntary or involuntary part-time work, for temporary work and for financially compensated schemes, such as parental leave schemes. In addition, the possibility part-time work offers for child-rearing or taking care of elderly or other dependent relations is not always really a free choice. The lack of child-care facilities and other provisions of acceptable quality and price may also play a role (). The lowest paid partner in the household (in most cases the woman) is usually the first to be inclined to give up regularly paid working hours, if such alternative provisions are not sufficiently available. Market mechanisms at the demand side result in a high correspondence of 'female' sectors and part-time work, and thus a reinforcement of job-segregation. It also seems that girls and women are more inclined to opt for careers directed to such predominantly female sectors and professions, anticipating such opportunities for adaptation of working time and working patterns, if this turns out to be necessary in future.

4.3.2. Desegregation will only occur if a more flexible range of working patterns and more individual control over the number of hours to be worked could be accomplished throughout all sorts of jobs, job levels and sectors. Voluntary part-time work could occur and be implemented without adverse consequences for careers and positions in predominantly 'male' sectors and professional and management jobs. Several studies and experiments show that managerial and highly responsible jobs might very well be performed in fewer hours, provided that there is a certain minimum availability (estimated in some studies somewhere between 25 and 32 hours) and flexibility. New technologies and communication techniques might prove useful in this respect.

4.3.3. A more favourable approach by male workers towards taking up a more equal share of child-rearing and caring tasks requires organizational, 'technical' and political conditions, as well as a 'cultural' change of attitudes, that may be stimulated through education and media campaigns.

4.4. The possible effects and models of leave arrangements of a substantial size on employment opportunities for the jobless, replacing workers on leave

4.4.1. The assignment of leaves of a substantial size (such as sabbatical leave, educational leave) to employees may lead to an increase of job vacancies, provided that the employees on leave are replaced by other workers and that overall productivity is not affected. In most cases not a full 100% of the vacant hours are substituted by extra manpower; often colleagues take up part of the duties, or the workers on temporary leave take up work afterwards, or - in case of partial absence - have a relatively higher output during the hours that they still work. It is important that such arrangements do not lead to an overall increase in employment costs.

4.4.2. Some European countries have organized schemes for leave (be it parental leave, pre-pension schemes or forms of sabbatical leave for educational or other reasons), that are linked to replacement by unemployed people, with the use of unemployment funds. For instance, Belgium and Denmark have experiences with such systems.

4.4.3. In the framework of the discussion on parental leave which the European Commission has submitted for consultation to the Social Partners on the basis of the Maastricht Social Policy Agreement Procedure, this approach could be worthwhile from an employment policy point of view.

4.5. The possible contribution of gradual retirement and (pre-) pension schemes

4.5.1. The same applies as regards the possible contribution of gradual retirement and (pre-) pension schemes: senior workers could gradually give way to new job applicants, partially using pension-funds and or unemployment schemes for financing. Except for the senior worker who in this way could enjoy a more gradual transfer from being a full-time worker to being a full-time pensioner, such systems might be attractive to management: knowledge and experience do not disappear all of a sudden, senior workers could be utilized as tutors and teachers for their successors. This might also be interesting in the framework of the discussions about a more flexible pension age. Care should be taken that such policies should not disadvantage unjustifiably the employment prospects of older workers.

4.6. Maximum working hours and overtime

4.6.1. Recent adaptations of labour legislation on working time in several Member States show, inter alia, that there is a change in emphasis towards annual working hours and/or longer intervals for the average calculation of maximum hours per week. The Working Time Directive adopted in 1993 by all Member States and which has to be implemented before 23 November 1996, provides for this opportunity. It offers a basis for negotiations on more flexible work scheduling. Such agreements have recently been drawn up: for example, the German Metal Industry Agreement, where a so called 'working time Corridor' for actual working time was agreed in combination with an overall reduction of annual working hours (without loss of pay). The basic idea of this model is that, whereas actual working hours may vary per day, week, and season - within an agreed 'corridor' - the weekly or monthly salaries are kept constant over the year. It is a model that combines business flexibility with job and income security, and stability for the workers.

4.6.2. Reduction of overtime is related to this trend towards annualization, especially where overtime has become a structural phenomenon. If more flexibility can be introduced in regular work patterns and schedules, the need for overtime could be kept to its essential purpose: catering for incidental and unexpected situations. Such replacement of structural overtime by regular work scheduling meeting demand and supply might create job opportunities for the unemployed. In other words, rigid in-built structural overtime, 'topped up' by fluctuating recourse to casual labour, should be replaced by employment-intensive flexibility based on work scheduling responsive to demand and presupposing the regular employment of a continually up-trained and rapidly deployable work-force whose 'extra' working hours should be compensated within agreed time references by time off in lieu. Furthermore a similar system of compensating part time workers for 'extra hours' , could stimulate a better planning and scheduling of work.

4.6.3. The above-mentioned Working Time Directive might be especially useful in setting objectives for collective working time agreements that may increase employment opportunities in countries where the average working hours and the incidence of overtime are significantly higher than in the rest of the European Union. In the United Kingdom for instance, one out of four full-time employees works more than 48 hours a week (whether or not compensated by extra pay) ().

4.7. Arrangements to implement voluntary changes in working hours in contractual relations

4.7.1. In most European countries, individual labour contracts define a fixed number of weekly, monthly or sometimes annual working hours, and as such offer indispensable job and income security . These contracts are a mutual agreement that cannot and may not be broken unilaterally. An alteration in the contractual working hours should only be made by mutual consent, except where legislation so provides.

4.7.2. The Dutch Labour Foundation (the permanent Social Dialogue between central employers' and trade union organizations in the Netherlands) issued a set of Recommendations in 1993 on part-time work and the differentiation of working patterns (), amongst which the recommendation to lay down rules in collective agreements for the employer 'to honour in principle a request from the employee to (re)adjust his or her working hours, unless this cannot be asked within reason from the employer on the basis of momentous business interests'. The basic assumption for this recommendation is that every job at every job level and in every sector lends itself in principle to a working pattern deviating from regular (full-time) working hours. The effect is that it is for the employer to prove the apparent reasons within the work organization which prevent him from honouring the request, to the extent and in the form, proposed by the employee. The provision as it is recommended also gives full opportunities to return to the former contract (in the case of a full-time worker opting for less hours thus to return to full time) conditioned through the same procedure; and it offers opportunities for part-time workers working involuntarily on a short part-time contract to apply for a full-time or longer part-time contract.

4.8. Equal treatment of workers irrespective of the number of hours worked

4.8.1. The above-mentioned Agreement between the social partners in the Netherlands, with Recommendations on part-time work, acknowledged and worked out in detail the importance of the implementation of the principle of equal treatment of workers irrespective of the numbers of hours worked. Equal treatment is indispensably linked to the promotion of part-time work and differentiation in working time patterns. If discriminated against and treated less favourably, a voluntary choice to work less will turn out to be unattractive, especially in those jobs and sectors that are attractive and suitable for promotions, with all the effects this has on the quality of employment.

4.8.2. The recent Convention on part-time work of the International Labour Organization, adopted together with a Recommendation in June 1994 by almost all EU Member States (including new members), provides a general basic global framework for a review of regulations and practices with respect to part-time workers. Individual Member States are preparing for the ratification of this Convention. It could also focus and stimulate debate and policy development in the European Union.

4.9. Accompanying adaptations of social security, pension schemes and fiscal systems with a view to removing disadvantageous effects on changes in, and especially reduction of, working hours, and possible incentives in these fields

4.9.1. The new and more varied working (hours) patterns, outlined in this Opinion, often do not fit in different aspects of labour law, social security, pension and tax systems. Removing obstacles and making regulations for stimulating the reduction and differentiation of working hours and patterns is an important issue for research and review at the national level. The Commission could stimulate such activities as well as the exchange of information and experiences at European level. It might be a focus point in the recent Social Action Programme, which announced initiatives concerning the individualization of social security and tax rights, leading to a Communication in the second half of 1996. The subject of individualization could thus be broadened also to include aspects of differentiation.

5. General conclusions and recommendations

5.1. Reorganization and reductions of working time, as outlined in this Opinion, can offer a significant contribution to the improvement of the employment situation, and therefore to social progress and well being, in the European Union.

5.2. The management of working time is an increasingly important issue for negotiation between employers and employees, at all levels.

5.3. There is no single uniform model of reduction and reorganization of working time which the European authorities can issue by 'decree'. There is however a compelling case to promote 'made-to-measure' working time options.

5.4. These 'made-to-measure' working time proposals must accommodate the differentiation and diversification of individual workers' needs plus their changing 'lifetime' options with respect to the quantity of working hours and working patterns. Such proposals should also match the varied and diverse flexibility requirements of modern production and service processes, and should enhance the firm's productivity and competitiveness and the promotion of more employment.

5.5. It is in the mutual interest of employers and employees to reach a balance between individual interests from both sides, and to shape the conditions for such a balance collectively. Agreements at the appropriate levels can be reached between trade unions and employers to include:

- on the one hand, demands for a collective reduction of working hours and more access (without prejudice) to voluntary (temporary or longer term) individual reductions in working hours (a 'right' to adapt working hours and to work part-time and/or rights to - fully or partially financially compensated - leave arrangements);

- on the other hand, demands for the adaptation and extension of business hours (for instance the introduction of shift-work, and scheduling of Saturday work) and a more flexible employment and scheduling of employees according to the needs of the production process or the demands of (potential) customers (for instance the widening of opening hours in the service sectors, and seasonal fluctuations in customers' demands).

5.6. Such collective agreements also offer an opportunity to find a better balance between the interests of different groups of workers. 'Externally directed' flexibility patterns designed by management, such as on call-contracts, temporary work and subcontracting, might be shifted towards 'internally directed' flexibility, if management can make use of regular 'core' workers in a more flexible manner. The qualitative advantages for management can be dovetailed with improvements in job security and working conditions for the 'flexible workforce' (in which new labour market participants - women, youth, migrants - are over-represented), so that they might be more easily integrated in the remodelled work organization.

5.7. The gap between traditional (often small, insecure and flexible) part-time jobs and exclusively full-time jobs will be narrowed, when substantial and extensive part-time jobs with adequate living incomes become an attractive option. This might be the case if a voluntary reduction of working hours is a real option to be achieved in all sectors, at all job levels and in all sorts of jobs and professions, without damaging or jeopardizing career and educational opportunities. Another indispensable condition is equal treatment of the part-time worker.

5.8. The difference between the hours worked by men and women will accordingly decline to the extent that voluntary, shorter working time for male workers becomes more accepted, and job opportunities for female part-time workers improve. This might also narrow the segregation gap between typically female and typically male jobs, which is currently conditioned by the shorter and more flexible working patterns still desired more frequently by women. Promotion of voluntary part-time work should be directed especially towards male workers.

5.9. The principle of equal treatment of part-time and full-time workers, as is basically laid down in the ILO Convention and Recommendation on part-time work (Convention 175, 1994), should be the starting point for 'law and practice' in the European Union. With respect to fundamental workers' rights, part-time workers should receive the same protection as full-time workers. Proportional, pro rata, treatment should be given with respect to wages and financial compensations. The Convention intends to remove unjustified exclusion and thresholds, such as exist for instance in some social security systems.

5.10. In the longer term, more varied working patterns will evolve: the 'standard working week' may disappear, but not the guiding principle of full employment and the objective that ideally every person who is willing and capable should be able to get a job in the 'size' he or she wants. In the longer term, more varied working patterns will evolve: the 'standard working week' may disappear, but not the guiding principle of full employment and the objective that ideally every person who is willing and capable should be able to get a job in the 'size' he or she wants. If conditions of free choice and equal treatment are met, both the average, as well as the most commonly preferred (i.e. 'modal') 'size' of the working week will tend to decrease, as several studies show (). In addition, the general trend to agree shorter (maximum or full-time) working hours in collective contracts will continue.

5.11. The reduction and reorganisation of working time could have a positive effect on public finances. The rate of unemployment could decrease and the financial basis for taxes and social security funds broaden. Incentives from the public authorities, such as the removal of barriers to new working time patterns, adaptations in social security and pension schemes, and collective funding or reallocation of funds to stimulate the reorganisation and reduction, would facilitate these positive results.

5.12. The re-organization and reduction of working time is primarily a matter in which the Social Partners should take the initiative, at the appropriate levels. Nevertheless the European Union and the Governments of Member States should encourage and facilitate these developments through:

- research, exchange of information and experiences, and the drafting of guidelines, drawing, inter alia, on the findings of the various international studies appended to this Opinion, notably as regards:

best practices and achievements in the reorganization and reduction of working time,

common principles with respect to working time arrangements in collective and individual labour contracts,

the reduction and reorganization of working time in redundancy situations,

implementation of the Working Time Directive;

- encouragement of the Social Dialogue and collective agreements, at appropriate levels, on the reduction and reorganization of working time;

- unequivocal legislation on equal treatment of part time workers drawing on the 1994 ILO Convention and Recommendation on part-time work coupled with the Convention's early ratification by all Member States;

- adaptation of existing legislation, fiscal, pension and social security systems in order to remove discriminatory treatment of part-time workers and to better accommodate and possibly stimulate the variation and differentiation in working hours and patterns lifelong.

Done at Brussels, 25 October 1995.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Carlos FERRER

() See for example: 'Part-time Work in the European Community. The Economic and Social Dimension', European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (1993); ILO Report 'World Employment 1995', Geneva, February 1995; ILO, 'Promoting Employment', Report of the Director-General, Geneva, March 1995; 'Employment in Europe in 1995' (draft Commission Report).

() OECD, Jobs Study, Paris June 1994; OECD, Jobs Study, The Implementation Strategy, Paris May 1995.

() 'Growth, competitiveness, employment: the challenges and way forward into the 21st century - White Paper', European Commission 1994, ISBN 92-826-7423-1, Part A, p. 9-p. 147, paragraph 8.8 (b) (iv).

() Presidency Conclusion SN 300/94, pp. 4-5.

() Council Resolution of 6. 1. 1994 on 'Equal participation by women in an employment-intensive economic growth strategy within the European Union'. OJ No C 368, 23. 12. 1994, p. 4, point 5 and p. 3, last 'Whereas'.

() Ibid., point 5 (a).

() Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament and to the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, 12. 4. 1995 (COM(95)134 final).

() Medium-term Social Action Programme, paragraph 4.3.2.

() Draft Report PE 212.851 of 8. 5. 1995.

() On the need for more child-care facilities, see ESC Opinion of 28. 11. 1991 on 'Child Care' (OJ No C 40 of 17. 2. 1992).

() Eurostat figures: in 1991 28% of UK ft employees worked 46 hours or more ; compared with an EU average of 11%; male ft workers: UK 36%; EU 14%.

() Stichting van de Arbeid, Den Haag, 1. 9. 1993, English translation, Publication No 7/93.

() See Employment Report op. cit.

APPENDIX to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee

The following amendments, which received the approval of at least one-quarter of the votes expressed, were defeated during the debate.

Point 5.12

Add the words 'cost neutral' before the words 'reduction of working time' appearing three times (first and second §§).

Reason

There is a presumption that higher productivity will 'pay' for a reduction in working time. It might be true in some cases but not in all. So to avoid increased costs, the words 'cost neutral' should be added.

Second §: add the following:

'The best solution is to leave questions concerning working hours to be decided through agreements between the company and the individual concerned.'

Reason

It is of considerable and growing importance that working hours are flexible and suited to the conditions in the industry at the individual company.

Voting

For: 40, against: 78, abstentions: 22.