WRITTEN QUESTION E-0594/01 by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Working Time Directive.
Date: 2001-03-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EC Directive, EU employment policy, paid leave, public holiday

C 318 E/80

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

effectiveness of Community aid is diminished by the persistent conflict in the southern Caucasus. The lack
of any real economic cooperation in the region and the difficulties the country is having in building up its
economy are also factors that must be taken into consideration.

(1) COM(97) 553 final.

(2001/C 318 E/082)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0591/01

by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission

(1 March 2001)

Subject: Burma

Is the Commission able to ascertain whether any Member State has taken any steps to implement the
recommendations of the ILO Commission of Inquiry into forced labour in Burma?

Will the Commission consider asking all Member States to report back on how they intend to proceed?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2001)

Under the terms of the Resolution on Forced Labour in Burma/Myanmar adopted by the International
Labour Conference in June 2000, which was confirmed by the ILO Governing Body in November 2000,
the Director-General of the ILO was to report to the Governing Body in March 2001 on any actions taken
by the ILO(cid:146)s constituents and by international organizations in response to the recommendations
contained in the Resolution.

Requests for information to this effect were addressed by the Director-General of the ILO to both Member
States and the Commission. The ILO recommendations (cid:129) which aim at the implementation by Burma/
Myanmar of the recommendations of the ILO Commission of Inquiry on the application of the Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No 29) (cid:129) was consequently discussed in the concerned Council instances.

EU Member States and the Commission have replied on their own behalf to the request from the Director-
General of
taken or envisaged in response to the
recommendations contained in the Resolution. Some common elements to be included in the replies
were agreed.

information regarding actions

the ILO for

The information submitted by Member States, and by the Commission, was included in a report by the
Director-General of the ILO to the Governing Body of the same organization during its 280th Session in
March 2001.

(2001/C 318 E/083)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0594/01

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(1 March 2001)

Subject: Working Time Directive

1.
Under the Working Time Directive, do employers have to provide four weeks paid holiday in
addition to public holidays? Alternatively, does the four-week mandatory paid holiday include public
holidays?

2.
Are Member States permitted to exempt small firms from the Working Time Directive? If so, what is
the largest type of company which may be exempted? Which Member States have chosen to exclude small
firms from the Working Time Directive? What criteria have been used by Member States to determine
which firms are to be excluded (turnover, number of employees etc.)?

13.11.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/81

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(30 May 2001)

The Working Time Directive (1) (Article 7) stipulates that Member States should take the necessary
1.
measures to ensure that every worker is entitled to paid annual leave of at least four weeks. However, the
Directive does not specify whether bank holidays should be included in this period of annual leave.

It could be argued that the term (cid:145)leave(cid:146) should be interpreted as time off during which the worker would
otherwise be supposed to be at work. Furthermore, bank holidays are supposed to be days on which
workers do not work (cid:129) it is not a matter of choice for them. Finally, it should be noted that, in quite
a number of Member States, bank holidays or public holidays are not counted as part of annual leave.

The Honourable Member may also be interested in reading the Commission(cid:146)s report on the state of
implementation of the Working Time Directive, adopted on 1 December 2000 (2).

The Working Time Directive does not allow Member States to exempt small firms from its scope. In
2.
accordance with Article 137 (ex Article 118) of the EC Treaty, the text of the Directive takes due account
of the aim of avoiding the imposition of administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which
would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized undertakings.

(1) Council Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 1993 concerning certain aspects of the organization of working time

(OJ L 307, 13.12.1993).

(2) COM(2000) 787 final.

(2001/C 318 E/084)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0595/01

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(1 March 2001)

Subject: Ethnic minorities

1. What percentage of the workforce of the European Commission comes from ethnic minorities?

2. What percentage of employees in the top 3 grades of seniority comes from ethnic minorities?

3. What ethnic monitoring does the Commission carry out? How long has the Commission had an
ethnic monitoring policy?

Are there any policies or rules, written or unwritten, which exclude members of ethnic minorities

4.
from particular positions or levels of seniority?

5. What is the function, chain of command and funding source for the EU Monitoring Centre on
Racism and Xenophobia in Vienna? What is the staffing structure in this organisation? How many of its
employees are from ethnic minorities?

6. What steps has the Commission taken to inform members of ethnic minorities of

(cid:129) the work and functions of the EU

(cid:129) employment opportunities with the EU institutions?

7. What steps are being taken to ensure the participation of ethnic minorities in the election of MEPs?