Council Directive 2000/79/EC of 27 November 2000 concerning the European Agreement on the Organisation of Working Time of Mobile Workers in Civil Aviation concluded by the Association of European Airlines (AEA), the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), the European Cockpit Association (ECA), the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) and the International Air Carrier Association (IACA) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2000-11-27
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: arrangement of working time, civil aviation, crew, multilateral agreement, working time

1.12.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 302/57

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2000/79/EC

of 27 November 2000

concerning the European Agreement on the Organisation of Working Time of Mobile Workers in
Civil Aviation concluded by the Association of European Airlines (AEA), the European Transport
Workers' Federation (ETF), the European Cockpit Association (ECA), the European Regions Airline
Association (ERA) and the International Air Carrier Association (IACA)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 139(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

Management and labour may, in accordance with Article
139(2) of the Treaty, request jointly that agreements
concluded at Community level be implemented by a
Council decision on a proposal from the Commission.

The Council adopted Directive 93/104/EC (1) concerning
certain aspects of the organisation of working time. Civil
aviation was one of the sectors and activities excluded
from the scope of that Directive. The European Parlia-
ment and the Council adopted Directive 2000/34/EC
amending Directive 93/104/EC in order to cover sectors
and activities previously excluded.

The Commission, in accordance with Article 138(2) of
the Treaty, has consulted management and labour on
the possible direction of Community action with regard
to the sectors and activities excluded from Directive
93/104/EC.

The Commission, considering after such consultation
that Community action was desirable, once again
consulted management and labour at Community level
on the substance of the envisaged proposal in accord-
ance with Article 138(3) of the Treaty.

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

This Directive and the Agreement
lay down more
specific requirements within the meaning of Article 14
of Directive 93/104/EC as regards the organisation of
working time of mobile staff in civil aviation.

Article 2(7) of Directive 93/104/EC defines mobile
workers as any worker employed as a member of travel-
ling or flying personnel by an undertaking which oper-
ates transport services for passengers or goods by road,
air or inland waterway.

The proper instrument for implementing the Agreement
is a Directive within the meaning of Article 249 of the
Treaty.

the highly integrated nature of

In view of
the civil
aviation sector and the conditions of competition
prevailing in it, the objectives of this Directive to protect
workers' health and safety cannot be
sufficiently
achieved by the Member States and Community action is
therefore required in accordance with the subsidiarity
principle laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty. This
Directive does not go beyond what
is necessary to
achieve those objectives.

(12) With regard to terms used in the Agreement which are
not specifically defined therein,
this Directive leaves
Member States free to define those terms in accordance
with national law and practice, as is the case for other
social policy Directives using similar terms, providing
that
the said definitions are compatible with the
Agreement.

The Association of European Airlines (AEA), the Euro-
pean Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), the European
Cockpit Association (ECA),
the European Regions
Airline Association (ERA) and the International Air
Carrier Association (IACA) have informed the Commis-
sion of their desire to enter into negotiations in accord-
ance with Article 138(4) of the Treaty.

(13)

The said organisations concluded, on 22 March 2000, a
European Agreement on the Organisation of Working
Time of Mobile Staff in Civil Aviation.

This Agreement contains a joint request to the Commis-
sion to implement the Agreement by a Council decision
on a proposal from the Commission, in accordance with
Article 139(2) of the Treaty.

(14)

(1) OJ L 307, 13.12.1993, p. 18. Directive as amended by Directive

2000/34/EC (OJ L 195, 1.8.2000, p. 41).

the

social dialogue

and promoting

The Commission has drafted its proposal for a Directive,
in accordance with its Communication of 20 May 1998
‘Adapting
at
Community level’, taking into account the representative
status of the signatory parties and the legality of each
clause of the Agreement. The signatory parties together
have a sufficiently representative
flying
personnel employed by an undertaking which operates
transport services for passengers or goods in civil
aviation.

status

for

The Commission has drafted its proposal for a Directive
in compliance with Article 137(2) of the Treaty which
provides that directives in the social policy domain ‘shall
avoid imposing administrative,
and legal
constraints
in a way which would hold back the
creation and development of small and medium-sized
undertakings’.

financial

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

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Official Journal of the European Communities

1.12.2000

(15)

(16)

(17)

(18)

(19)

This Directive and the Agreement establish minimum
standards. Member States and/or management and
labour may maintain or introduce more favourable
provisions.

Implementation of this Directive should not serve to
justify any regression in relation to the situation which
already exists in each Member State.

The Commission has informed the European Parliament,
the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee
of the Regions by sending them the text of its proposal
for a Directive incorporating the Agreement.

The European Parliament adopted a Resolution on the
social partners'
framework agreement on 3 October
2000.

The implementation of the Agreement contributes to
achieving the objectives under Article 136 of the Treaty,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

The purpose of this Directive is to implement the European
Agreement on the organisation of working time of mobile staff
in civil aviation concluded on 22 March 2000 between the
organisations representing management and labour in the civil
aviation sector: the Association of European Airlines (AEA), the
European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), the European
Cockpit Association (ECA), the European Regions Airline Asso-
ciation (ERA) and the International Air Carrier Association
(IACA).

fields covered by this Directive. This shall be without prejudice
to the rights of Member States and/or management and labour
to lay down, in the light of changing circumstances, different
legislative, regulatory or contractual arrangements to those
prevailing at
this Directive,
provided always that the minimum requirements laid down in
this Directive are complied with.

the adoption of

the time of

Article 3

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive not later than 1 December 2003 or shall ensure that,
by that date at the latest, management and labour have intro-
duced the necessary measures by agreement. The Member
States shall take any necessary measure to enable them at any
time to be in a position to guarantee the results imposed by
this Directive. They shall forthwith inform the Commission
thereof.

When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a
reference on the occasion of their official publication. The
methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by the
Member States.

Article 4

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publica-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 5

The text of the Agreement appears in the Annex.

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Article 2

1. Member States may maintain or introduce more favour-
able provisions than those laid down in this Directive.

The implementation of

2.
this Directive shall under no
circumstances constitute sufficient grounds for justifying a
reduction in the general level of protection of workers in the

Done at Brussels, 27 November 2000.

For the Council

The President

É. GUIGOU

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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ANNEX

European Agreement on the Organisation of Working Time of Mobile Staff in Civil Aviation concluded by the
Association of European Airlines (AEA), the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), the European
Cockpit Association (ECA), the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) and the International Air Carrier
Association (IACA)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community and in particular Articles 138 and 139(2) thereof,

Having regard to the fact that Article 139(2) of the Treaty provides that agreements concluded at European level may be
implemented at the joint request of the signatory parties by a Council decision on a proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the fact that the signatory parties hereby make such a request,

Having regard to the fact that the signatory parties consider that the provisions of this Agreement are ‘more specific
requirements’ within the meaning of Article 14 of Council Directive 93/104/EC, and that the provisions of that Directive
should not apply,

THE SIGNATORY PARTIES HAVE AGREED THE FOLLOWING:

Clause 1

Clause 4

1. The Agreement applies to the working time of mobile staff

in civil aviation.

2. It

lays down more specific requirements within the
meaning of Article 14 of Council Directive 93/104/EC
relating to the organisation of working time of mobile staff
in civil aviation.

Clause 2

1.

‘Working time’ means any period during which the worker
is working, at the employer's disposal and carrying out his
activity or duties, in accordance with national laws and/or
practice.

2.

‘Mobile staff in civil aviation’ means crew members on
board a civil aircraft, employed by an undertaking estab-
lished in a Member State.

3.

‘Block flying time’ means the time between an aircraft first
moving from its parking place for the purpose of taking off
until it comes to rest on the designated parking position
and until all engines are stopped.

Clause 3

1. Mobile staff in civil aviation are entitled to paid annual
leave of at least four weeks, in accordance with the condi-
tions for entitlement to, and granting of, such leave laid
down by national

legislation and/or practice.

1. (a) Mobile staff in civil aviation are entitled to a free health
assessment before their assignment and thereafter at
regular intervals.

(b) Mobile staff in civil aviation suffering from health prob-
lems recognised as being connected with the fact that
they also work at night will be transferred whenever
possible to mobile or non-mobile day work to which
they are suited.

2. The free health assessment referred to in paragraph 1(a)

shall comply with medical confidentiality.

3. The free health assessment referred to in paragraph 1(a)
may be conducted within the national health system.

Clause 5

1. Mobile staff in civil aviation will have safety and health
protection appropriate to the nature of their work.

2. Adequate protection and prevention services or facilities
with regard to the safety and health of mobile staff in civil
aviation will be available at all times.

Clause 6

Necessary measures will be taken to ensure that an employer,
who intends to organise work according to a certain pattern,
takes account of the general principle of adapting work to the
worker.

Clause 7

2. The minimum period of paid annual

leave may not be
replaced by an allowance in lieu, except where the employ-
ment relationship is terminated.

Information concerning specific working patterns of mobile
staff in civil aviation should be provided to the competent
authorities,

if they so request.

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Clause 8

Brussels, 22 March 2000.

1. Working time should be looked at without prejudice to any
future Community legislation on flight and duty time
limitations and rest requirements and in conjunction with
national legislation on this subject which should be taken
into consideration in all related matters.

2. The maximum annual working time,

including some
elements of standby for duty assignment as determined by
the applicable law, shall be 2 000 hours in which the block
flying time shall be limited to 900 hours.

3. The maximum annual working time shall be spread as

evenly as practicable throughout the year.

Clause 9

Without prejudice to Clause 3, mobile staff in civil aviation
shall be given days free of all duty and standby, which are
notified in advance, as follows:

(a) at least seven local days in each calendar month, which
may include any rest periods required by law; and

Association of European Airlines (AEA)

Karl-Heinz Neumeister, Secretary General
Manfred Merz, Vice Chairman of AEA Social Affairs
Committee, Chairman of the Negotiating Team

European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF)

Brenda O'Brien, Assistant General Secretary
Betty Lecouturier, President, Cabin Crew Committee
Bent Gehlsen, Negotiating Group Member, Cabin Crew
Committee

European Cockpit Association (ECA)

Captain Francesco Gentile, Chairman
Captain Bill Archer, Vice Chairman
Giancarlo Crivellaro, General Secretary

(b) at least 96 local days in each calendar year, which may

European Regions Airline Association (ERA)

include any rest periods required by law.

Mike Ambrose, Director General

Clause 10

The parties shall review the above provisions two years after
the end of the implementation period laid down in the Council
Decision putting this Agreement into effect.

The International Air Carrier Association (IACA)

Marc Frisque, Director General
Allan Brown, Director, Aeropolitical and Industry Affairs