(9 juillet 2009) The ETUC Executive Committee yesterday confirmed its position on the working time directive. EPSU General Secretary Carola Fischbach-Pyttel expresses her satisfaction with the ETUC statement: ‘Our message to the Commission is very clear. We do not want a fast track consultation on a revised working time directive over the summer break. We now need time for reflection before any revision of the directive. We expect that the Commission now lives up to its duties and enforces (...)

(29 May 2009, Spain) Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Alejandro Cercas (pictured right with EPSU General Secretary Carola Fishcbach-Pyttel, and Stephen Hughes MEP), has today slammed the European Commission’s attempts to get an ’under the table deal’ on working time. The MEP had discovered that the Commission was preparing to launch an initiative on working time, but which would exlude the key topic of the so-called ’individual opt-out’. EPSU has received the full text of an (...)

Press Communication
(28 April, 2009) The Conciliation Committee, set up to find a compromise on working time between Parliament and Council, met for the last time last night. Talks concluded without an agreement being reached. The sticking points were the opt-out, on-call time and multiple contracts.
“Despite the best efforts of the European Parliament delegation, it was not possible to reach an agreement that would have allowed the working time directive to play a meaningful role in (...)

End to Opt-Out ‘logical’ if directive is to have any meaning
(18 March 2009, Brussels) The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), particularly as the European social partner for firefighters and medical personnel, welcomes the European Parliament stance as working time talks begin.
The so called ‘conciliation committee’ process on the working time directive started on Tuesday (17 March). The formal talks, between teams from the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, (...)

(17 December, 2008, Strasbourg) By overwhelming majority, the European Parliament has today voted to keep the working time directive strong. Under the expert stewardship of Socialist MEP Alejandro Cercas, the vote saw huge majorities on the three key points: a fair period in which to calculate the average working week; counting on-call time in the workplace as working time; and a phasing out of the opt-out from the directive. The margin of victory exceeded even the most optimistic (...)

(16 December, 2008, Strasbourg) Over 10,000 trade unionists demonstrated outside the European Parliament, calling on Members to vote for fair working time in the EU. The MEPs are due to vote on the working time directive on Wednesday (December 17). At stake is the definition of working time, the period over which the maximum average working week is calculated, and perhaps most importantly, the extent to which EU member states are legally obliged to implement the directive.
The European (...)

(17 December, 2008, Strasbourg) EPSU affiliate Ver.di played a major part in mobilising both workers and MEPs on the working time directive. The President of Ver.di´s firefighters’ section, Wolfgang Thurner, sent a letter (attached) to all Members of Parliament urging them to understand the health and safety consequences of a weak directive. In addition, the firefighters were perhaps the most visible of demonstators on the eve of the vote - see video attached.
EPSU local government (...)

(17 December, 2008, Strasbourg) Heavyhanded French Police refused to allow entry to the European Parliament for members of EPSU Austrian affiliate GdG. The reason? They were wearing red jackets (pictured).
The Austrian trade unionists were in Strasbourg demonstrating for a fair working time directive. Delegation leader Thomas Kattnig explained that the French police insisted that while French President Nicolas Sarkozy was addressing Parliament, they were to remain outside, as their (...)

(16 décembre, 2008, Strasbourg) Un tout grand merci à nos collègues belges et français de la part de la FSESP.
Ils ont manifesté à Strasbourg sous notre bannière, pour une politique de temps de travail juste.
Ils ont constitué 90% de notre délégation. Les affiliés belges, CGSP/ACOD et ACV-CSC, et français, FO et CGT, ont participé avec plus de 200 participants au cortège de la FSESP.
Merci tout particulièrement à Jean-Paul Devos (ACV-CSC), Gilbert Lieben (CGSP-ACOD), et Francoise Geng (CGT).
mise à jour (...)