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EUROPEAN REVIEW

ISSUE 8 - Page 4

Working Time directive hits familiar problems in U.K. 'long hours culture'

THE EUROPEAN UNION'S directive on working time, which came into force in the United Kingdom in October last year, has become a bone of contention between unions, employers and government. Whilst there is some evidence that it is working reasonably well, employers have been complaining about the amount of paperwork involved and the government's response has angered the trade union movement. The T.U.C. recently published a report which showed Britons worked the longest hours in Europe.

UK workers average 44 hours a week, the report said, compared to 39 in Holland, Belgium and Denmark, and 40 in France and Germany. T.U.C. general secretary John Monks said: 'Too many workplaces are gripped by a long-hours culture. Nothing is ever said, but the pressure of work, office culture and job insecurity makes clear that employees have little choice but to put in extra work'.		The T.U.C. is asking ministers to call talks between employers and unions to reach agreement on difficulties which have emerged in the Working Time Directive. Instead the government has said that it wants to bring in more opt-outs to add to the one passed in October which allowed UK workers to sign a voluntary waiver to the directive if they wanted to work more than the forty-eight hours a week stipulated.
	John Monks

The first amendment would give more flexibility for workers who determine their own hours, said Trade and Industry Secretary, Stephen Byers. If they voluntarily work hours above their contract, these will not count towards the limit of forty-eight. The second proposal is that detailed record-keeping of hours of workers who opt out of the regulations will not be required. Adair Turner, director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: 'No-one wants unnecessary amounts of hours being worked, but ultimately individuals, and particularly the sort of people covered by the opt outs, can make their own decisions'. However a B.B.C. survey has found that that of those workers who opted out last October, one in five felt they had been obliged to do so. The researchers had interviewed 6,000 employees, of whom 635 had opted out of the working time regulations.

Kosovo pledges roll in but doubts remain

Following the meetings in July of the Stability Pact countries in Sarajevo and the first donor conference, partly organised by the EU, in Brussels (see our last issue, this page), over $2 billion has been pledged for the reconstruction of Kosovo. The countries have affirmed their 'collective and individual readiness to give concrete meaning to the pact by promoting political and economic reforms, development and enhanced security in the region'.

However doubts remain as to how much money will actually be spent in the province and surrounding region and whether this will have the desired effect. Dr. Jonathan Eyal of the Royal United Services Institute in London, writing for BBC Online claims,'The current tally of $2bn may sound impressive. But it is computed on the basis of some recycled pledges already made in the past, and it is tailored for the immediate reconstruction of Kosovo, rather than wider Balkan purposes. Nor is this just the start of a cash avalanche: the US has served notice that its current contribution of $500m is the top ceiling of its largesse, rather than merely a foretaste of future donations'. Turning to the Stability Pact he says that although 'Both the EU and NATO are suggesting that, while assistance plans are put together for the area, the Balkan states should be encouraged to co-operate with each other' ,'Not only do they have little to offer each other, but they actually compete with each other for the same Western capital resources'.

The EU has cleared €196 million this year for such fundamental activities as distribution of building material and basic commodities (beds, mattresses, blankets, stoves etc.), and enabling returnees to start minor repairs to make their homes weatherproof before the winter. But it seems that after the immediate humanitarian commitments have been met, the task of the Stability Pact countries to 'work together to accelerate the transition in the region to stable democracies, prosperous market economies and open and pluralistic societies in which human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, are respected, as an important step in their integration into Euro-Atlantic and global institutions' may be a Herculean one.

EUROPE'S AGEING POPULATION

Following the article on page 4 of the last European Review, Eurostat has produced a report which details the statistics of Europe's ageing population. In 'Regional population ageing of the EU at different speeds up to 2025' they say that 'EU-wide, the share of the elderly in the total population is expected to rise from 21% now to around 34% by 2050. Those 80+ are predicted to rise from 4% of today's population to some 10%'. The report also provides a regional breakdown which we reproduce below. Figures denote the percentage of the population forecast to be older than 60 in 2025 in the youngest and oldest regions.

REGION	COUNTRY	PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION OLDER THAN 60 IN 2025	REGION	COUNTRY	PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION OLDER THAN 60 IN 2025
Azores	Portugal	18.0	Rioja	Spain	35.0
Madeira	Portugal	19.3	Castille-León	Spain	35.0
Ceuta & Melilla	Spain	19.6	Mecklenburg	Germany	35.1
Greater London	United Kingdom	21.6	Somerset & Dorset	United Kingdom	35.5
Greater Paris	France	21.7	Piedmont	Italy	35.7
Ireland	Ireland	23.4	Tuscany	Italy	35.8
Murcia	Spain	23.6	Emilia-Romagna	Italy	35.8
Canaries	Spain	23.7	Friuli Venezia Giulia	Italy	36.5
Northern Portugal	Portugal	23.7	Limousin	France	37.0
Northern Ireland	United Kingdom	24.0	Liguria	Italy	38.6

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