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THE Commission has drafted a proposal to cover the 5.5 million workers excluded from the Working Time Directive of 1993. The new proposal includes amendments to the 1993 directive, incorporating most of the formerly excluded workers, mostly in the maritime, railway and road transport industries, a new one on driving time, a communication on the organisation of working time in the excluded sectors and specific measures on seafarers. Although the social partners in the shipping and rail sectors came to an agreement, which is incorporated in the proposal, the unions and employers in road transport failed to do so.
The 1993 Working Time Directive which, due to a lengthy period of stalling by the last government, did not come into force in the U.K. until 1 October this year, aimed to protect workers against adverse effects on their health and safety from excessively long hours, inadequate rest or disruptive working patterns. Most of its provisions are echoed in the new proposal (see below) and it also included extra measures concerning night and shift workers as well as the organisation of labour according to the principle of adapting the work to the worker.
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The provisions | |
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(1993 Working Time Directive) |
New proposed directive on mobile workers in road transport |
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a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours a day;
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a maximum weekly working time of 60 hours; |
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a rest break where the working day is longer than 6 hours;
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a break of at least 30 minutes after 6 working hours; |
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a minimum rest period of 1 day a week;
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a break of at least 45 minutes after 9 hours; |
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a maximum weekly working time of 72 hours;
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weekly rest of at least 35 hours; |
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a maximum working week of 48 hours on average including overtime; |
a maximum of 10 hours nightly working time for night workers;
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4 weeks' annual paid holiday;
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a maximum working day of 8 hours on average over a 2 month period. |
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night workers must not work more than 8 hours in 24 on average. |
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The European Commission has adopted a communication setting out how the EU should manage the phasing out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in metered dose inhalers (MDIs) used against asthma and other diseases. It calls upon national health authorities to: 1) not approve any new CFC containing MDIs and 2) not to delay the approval of CFC-free inhalers. CFCs are used as propellants in a wide range of inhalers as they are non-toxic and reliable. Unfortunately they also destroy the ozone layer, which protects the earth's surface from harmful ultra-violet radiation, as they rise to the upper atmosphere and are eventually broken down by the sun, releasing chlorine which can destroy ozone molecules.
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Martin Bangemann |
Ritt Bjerregaard, |
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EU Commissioner for Industry |
EU Commissioner for the Environment |
In 1987 the United Nations Environment Programme, in its Montreal Protocol, called for countries to phase out CFCs by 1996. However MDIs were given an 'essential use' exemption whilst no 'technically and economically feasible' alternatives were available. A number of such alternatives are now on the market including hydrofluoroalkanes (HFAs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are chlorine-free, dry-powder inhalers and nebulisers. Global production of MDIs is currently about 500 million a year, emitting 10,000 tonnes of CFCs. The EU is the world's largest manufacturer of MDIs producing about 250 million inhalers annually, 25% of which are exported. EU companies have also led research into alternatives according to the Commissioners of Environment and Industry.
Canada has requested that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) intervene over the ban by France of asbestos products, claiming that it violates the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). At the WTO consultations in July, the EU provided Canada with scientific proof that asbestos fibres were carcinogenic, killing approximately 2,000 people annually, in France alone. The European Union has therefore rejected the Canadian claim. Canada is one of the largest asbestos producers in the world but has seen a big decrease in exports as, one by one, nine EU countries have banned the product on health grounds. The U.K. is currently considering legislation.
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