Interpreters in the European Parliament on strike over changes to working time rules

The ETUC has called on trade unions across Europe to be alert to attempts by employers to take advantage of a recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on working time. In its ruling on the case, involving a casino worker in Portugal, the ECJ said that the rest day specified in the Working Time Directive does not necessarily need to follow after six days of work. The ETUC underlines the fact that the Court also stressed the need to keep health and safety objectives uppermost when determining what constitutes an adequate rest period. This means factors such as the nature of the work have to

The HRH commercial and services employers’ organization has called on the government to allow greater flexibility in working time in response to the impact of widespread flu infection across Norway. The organization claims that a flu epidemic could double the number of workers off sick and that employers need to be able to change shift arrangements at short notice. The Fagforbundet municipal union has rejected this arguing that there is enough flexibility in the current working time rules that allow for shift changes and overtime. The YS civil service union has also expressed surprise that HRH