A4-0229/98

Resolution on the Commission's White Paper on sectors and activities excluded from the working time Directive (COM(97)0334 - C4-0434/97)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission's White Paper of 15 July 1997 (COM(97)0334 - C4-0434/97),

- having regard to Articles 118a and 118b of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

- having regard to Articles 137, 138, and 139 of the Treaty of Amsterdam,

- having regard to Article 2 of the European Social Charter of the Council of Europe of 18 October 1961,

- having regard to Articles 7 to 9 of the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers of 9 December 1989,

- having regard to Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work ((OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1.)),

- having regard to Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 1993 concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time ((OJ L 307, 13.12.1993, p. 18.)),

- having regard to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities of 12 November 1996 in Case C-84/94 (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v. Council of the European Union) (([1996] ECR I-5755.)),

- having regard to the consultation document adopted by the Commission on 31 March 1998 on the second stage of consultation with the European social partners on sectors and activities excluded from the working time Directive,

- having regard to the report by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on Fisheries (A4-0229/98),

A. whereas working time directly and indirectly affects the health and safety not only of workers but also of customers, consumers, patients and road-users; whereas protecting workers' health and safety and safeguarding public health are among the objectives of the European Community as laid down in the Treaty,

B. whereas a strong link exists between occupational and operational safety in some sectors, and a high level of both is also a guarantee for the protection of the environment,

C. whereas working time can be used - and also abused - to strengthen an undertaking's own competitiveness and to step up competition between individuals, firms, sectors and Member States; whereas, in accordance with the Treaty, distortions of competition within the internal market must be prevented and combated,

D. whereas in a labour market where working hours per day, week and month are becoming increasingly flexible, it is particularly necessary to abide by standard rules to protect the health and safety of workers,

E. whereas well-conceived regulation of working time can help to create or safeguard jobs; whereas its regulation in inappropriate ways can have serious adverse effects on the families and social lives of those affected,

F. whereas Directive 93/104/EC excludes certain sectors and activities from Community regulation of working time; whereas this discrimination is not supported by scientific or social considerations but is based on dubious political and economic reasons,

G. whereas an estimated 6 million workers are thus excluded from the scope of the working time Directive; whereas only a limited group works in mobile occupations,

H. whereas regulation of working time, including checks and sanctions, varies widely from Member State to Member State and from sector to sector,

I. whereas working time is a major aspect both of workers' conditions of employment and of their quality of life and should therefore feature prominently on the agenda of the European social dialogue; whereas the Joint Sectoral Committees in certain excluded sectors have already delivered unanimous opinions; whereas other Joint Sectoral Committees in the excluded sectors are still holding negotiations,

J. whereas the European social partners have, on a Commission initiative, consulted both on a framework proposal and on various sectoral measures relating to working time in the sectors and activities excluded from the directive,

K. whereas Directive 93/104/EC aims to protect workers¨ safety and health; whereas employment in the fishing industry is one of the most hazardous occupations, with the most industrial accidents and deaths,

1. Considers that non-mobile workers (numbering an estimated 5 million) must enjoy full protection in relation to working hours, and must therefore be brought fully within the scope of Directive 93/104/EC;

2. Considers, moreover, that mobile workers must also enjoy full protection in relation to working hours and must therefore be brought as fully as possible within the scope of Directive 93/104/EC, in particular regarding the provisions of the Directive on annual leave, health assessment for night workers, rest periods and annual working time; in all excluded sectors mobile workers must, where necessary, be covered by specific legislation which could also be based on agreement between social partners, providing at least the same level of occupational safety as the original Directive, in order to guarantee equal treatment and non-discrimination between workers covered by Directive 93/104/EC and workers covered by sectoral legislation, and also between workers covered by different sectoral legislation;

3. Considers that sufficient allowance should be made for characteristics peculiar to the sectors and activities concerned, in particular, road-haulage drivers' non-driving time, the daily rest periods and breaks from work of flight crew, the rosters of staff on trains, the work of workers who, without being mobile, are dependent on railway timetables, reference periods for activities at sea, daily rest periods for fishermen and on-call duties of doctors in training;

4. Calls on the European social partners, both in the different Joint Sectoral Committees and through the European social dialogue, and on the Commission and the Council, to give priority to safeguarding workers' health and safety; calls on them also to give their full attention to the need to safeguard public health, in particular in relation to road users, the sick and those in need of care;

5. Welcomes the fact that certain Joint Sectoral Committees in the excluded sectors or activities have already reached agreement on a number of aspects of the organization of working time;

6. Asks the Commission to take due account of this resolution and the agreements concluded in the Joint Sectoral Committees; urges it to submit, not later that 31 December 1998, a proposal to amend Directive 93/104/EC, and, on the basis of that Directive, to submit proposals for sector-by-sector regulation;

7. Reminds the Commission of the link between occupational and operational safety in the transport sector for both workers and passengers, as well as for the environment;

8. Hopes to see an amendment of Regulation 3820/85 on the harmonization of certain social legislation relating to road transport ((OJ L 370, 31.12.1985, p. 1.)), the scope of which covers the entire profession, employees and self-employed, the whole of the 'duty' time and appropriate health and occupational safety requirements; that amendment must be consistent with the objective of reducing driving time and working time;

9. Calls for the parties concerned, employers and workers¨ representatives, to resume talks in order to reach agreement on the repercussions of including the fishing industry in the working time Directive, and calls on the Commission to promote suitable fora for such discussions to take place;

10. Considers that there is also a need for Community legislation on the distribution of working time for persons employed in the fisheries sector, in view of the lack of uniformity and consistency in the laws of the Member States and the absence of agreement between the social partners;

11. Recognizes that future legislation must not undermine the regional or local collective employment contracts which currently apply in certain Member States and which offer higher levels of social protection than those envisaged in the Commission¨s White Paper;

12. Calls on the European Union to acquire the instruments required to step up checks and harmonize penalties in the interests of effective action against excessive working time;

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States and the European social partners.