Seminarium w Brukseli na temat dyrektywy o czasie pracy
Służby prasowe Parlamentu Europejskiego organizują seminarium w Brukseli na temat dyrektywy o czasie pracy, której projekt ma być omawiany na grudniowym posiedzeniu PE.
Seminarium zaplanowane jest na 10 grudnia 2008 roku. Zaproszonym dziennikarzom Parlament Europejski zwraca koszty dojazdu i pokrywa część kosztów pobytu na miejscu.
Dysponujemy ograniczoną liczbą miejsc.
Jednocześnie przypominamy, że istnieje możliwość wyjazdu na grudniową sesję plenarna do Strasburga. Dziennikarze sami organizują wyjazd i pobyt na miejscu, a Parlament Europejski zwraca koszty podróży i pokrywa część kosztów pobytu.
Aktualizacja 17.11.2008
Wstępny program seminarium i informacje o dyrektywie o czasie pracy
Directorate general COMMUNICATION
Directorate for the mEdia
PRESS SERVICE
DRAFT PROGRAMME
The Working Time Directive in the European Parliament
Seminar for journalists
10 December, Brussels
Wednesday morning Room PHS 7C 50 (EN)
From 10:00 Arrival, registration of journalists
(Press entrance, PHS building)
(Badges, accreditation at the entrance)
10:30 - 11:00 Introduction to the seminar
Welcome and explanation of practical matters - written and audiovisual facilities
Yannis Darmis, Paula Fernández Hervás, EP officials, press service
11:00 - 11:30 An introduction to the European Parliament
A presentation in view of the forthcoming European elections
Alexandros Karides, EP official (tbc)
11:45- 12:30 The co-decision procedure
How decisions are taken in the European Union
Steps ahead in the adoption of the Working Time Directive
Michael Shackleton, EP official
12:30 - 13:00 Working time legislative
History of procedure and vote in the Employment Committee
Nora Chaal, EP official
13:00 - 14:30 Cocktail
Place to be confirmed
Wednesday afternoon Room ASP A5 G3 (interpretation EN, FR, ES, DE, PT, EL)
14:30 - 15:30 An introduction to the Working Time Directive proposal
The proposal of the European Commission and position of the parliamentary committee - background and steps taken
Madeline Reid, official, European Commission (tbc)
Camasoiou Oana, EP official, Employment and Social Affairs Committee
15:30 - 17:30 Panel with MEPs:
Political issues at stake
Exchange of views with Members of Parliament, Employment and Social Affairs Committee
Alejandro CERCAS (PSE, ES) - Rapporteur
José Albino SILVA PENEDA (EPP-ED, PT) - Shadow rapporteur
Elisabeth SCHROEDTER (Greens/EFA, DE) - Shadow rapporteur
Elizabeth LYNNE (ALDE, UK) - Shadow rapporteur
Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS (GUE/NGL, EL) - Shadow rapporteur
Background:
The objective of this seminar is to exchange views with journalists on the ongoing debate about the revision of existing legislation on working time, and to explain how decisions are taken in the European Parliament.
The existing legislation on working time, adopted in 1993 and amended in 2000, is now up for revision, to take into account recent case law from the European Court of Justice regarding on-call time. The revision, proposed by the European Commission in 2003, concerns mainly derogations to the applications of the maximum weekly working time and the possibility not to apply this constraint if the worker agrees (opt-out clause, used mainly in the UK).
The European Parliament, co-legislator in this field, adopted in May 2005 its first reading. In this vote, Parliament maintained the 48 hours per week as maximum working time and rejected the opt-out clause. The first reading vote also said that the opt-out should be phased out within three years and defined on-call time (mainly used in the medical sector) as working time. At the same time, Parliament introduced some flexibility for companies by allowing the calculation of the average working time to be done over a reference period of twelve months, instead of four.
On 9 June 2008, the Council reached a common position, a compromise among Member States, (Spain Belgium, Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Hungary did not support the common position) which re-instated the opt-out option with some limits: unless provided otherwise in a collective agreement, workers could work up to 60 hours on average a week or 65 hours if inactive periods of on-call time were included. Reference periods for calculation were fixed at three months. Ministers also made a difference between active on-call time, to be considered as working time, and inactive on-call time (i.e. when the worker is on-call but not in fact called upon to carry out his or her duties).
Now the full European Parliament will have a decisive vote in December. The proposal of the rapporteur, Alejandro Cercas, on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, is to reinstate EP positions on the opt-out (phasing out within 3 years) and on-call time (entire period of on-call time to be considered working time). The report was adopted on 5 November 2008 by 35 votes for, 13 against and 2 abstentions.
The seminar, organised by the European Parliament's press service, takes place a few days before the debate in plenary, scheduled for 16 December and in the middle of negotiations with Council aiming for a compromise. If no agreement is reached at this stage, a third phase of the procedure is launched after the vote in plenary: conciliation, which will be a last chance to reach agreement. At conciliation, Parliament and Council must negotiate over a fixed time period to try to reach a compromise between the two institutions.
For the adoption of this package, the co-decision procedure applies, granting Parliament legislative powers equal to the Council. The seminar will also be an occasion to explain what this procedure involves. Journalists can explore the position of Members on these dossiers.
Contacts:
Ioannis Darmis 00 32 2 284 38 16 (00 32 498 98 32 69)
Paula Fernández Hervás 00 32 2 284 25 35 (00 32 498 98 32 36)
Nora Chaal 00 32 2 283 11 51 (00 32 498 98 34 02)
Nadia Bezakova 00 32 2 284 34 42 - organisational aspects
