The Lazy get Lazier

[Desnudo]

Or the entitled get more entitled.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_employment_rules

Parliament OKs 48-Hour Maximum Work Week By JAN SLIVA, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 51 minutes ago

The European Parliament voted Wednesday in favor of an obligatory 48-hour maximum work week, saying that an opt-out widely used by Britain should be scrapped.

The opt-out, which allows employees to work longer hours if agreed with the employer, has also been applied to specific industries like health care in other countries, including Germany and Luxembourg.

Lawmakers voted for it to be phased out over three years following the adoption of a new EU Working Time Directive, expected in 2007. Socialist, Labour and Green deputies supported scrapping the opt-out, while the European People's Party and some independent lawmakers voted against the proposal by 378 votes to 262. There were 15 abstentions.

EU employment ministers are set to discuss the issue again at a meeting in Brussels in June.

Plans to scrap the opt-out have been opposed by managers, hospitals and small business federations, who argue the 48-hour week is too stringent.

Managers, CEOs and employees elected by the board of their company would still be able to apply for the opt-out under strict conditions. However, workers in emergency services would have to stick to a 48-hour week.

"At the moment, there is a blocking majority led by the U.K., but there are things that can be done," Jean Lambert, a Green MEP (members of the European Parliament) for London, told The Associated Press. "I think the opt-out is totally unnecessary. It's a health and safety measure issue, we don't opt out of any of that."

Eight other countries, including Germany, Luxembourg, Latvia and Poland are in favor of retaining the opt-out, said British Labor MEP Stephen Hughes. Another bloc, led by Sweden, France, Greece, Belgium and Hungary is against it.

Bill Cash, a Euroskeptic lawmaker in Britain's main opposition Conservative Party, said the vote showed the dangers of close European integration.

"We should have vetoed these provisions in the first place," he said. "This proves that Britain must take a tough Euroskeptic position against the destruction of jobs and renegotiate these European treaties fundamentally with a threat of withdrawal."

Conservative foreign affairs spokesman Liam Fox called on the government to "use all their diplomatic efforts to ensure that Britain is not saddled with yet more regulation that will cost British jobs."

The European lawmakers also ruled "on-call" time would be counted as working time in most cases, and called for average working hours to be calculated over a full year, rather than the current period of four months, subject to strict control by trade unions.

Voting on a report updating the 1993 Working Time Directive, the parliament said both active and inactive "on-call time" in hospitals will be counted as working time, but left it up to the member states to define how the inactive hours would be paid or calculated.

Socialist deputy Alejandro Cercas, who drafted the parliament's report, said the vote was aimed at restoring public confidence in European social values.

"EU citizens are asking what the EU can do for them, and this is one of the things," he said. "Citizens want a social Europe."

In a heated debate preceding the vote, right-wing deputies said the possibility of an opt-out should be preserved, warning that a maximum cap of 48 hours would hurt small businesses in particular.

[RainRaven]

Maybe they just don't want to work all the time and I don't know... actually enjoy life a little bit. If that makes them lazy then so be it, but life is too short to constantly be driven to work more and more hours.

[Yossarian]

Under this rule, you are allowed to work > 48hs, just not 'as a matter of course'

I think they look at a 12 week average. This still gives workers the ability to go all out for a crunch etc.. without completely sacrificing a social life.

[finkenst]

work/life balance...

and how is this "The Lazy get lazier"?

[DaddyTorgo]

I <3 the EU. I want to find me a nice EU citizen and get myself married so I can get citizenship. The EU is where I want to be! Aaah to be able to turn around and say "Legally I can only work 48 hours this week." Bloody wonderful. And a hearty FU to the British govt. for trying to circumvent it and threatening to pull out on the basis of losing jobs. Who exactly will they be losing jobs to? There's nowhere overseas on the continent for them to go that is even remotely close to make it possible. It's EU or bust England, get with the program.

[Schmidty]

I didn't read the article.

[Dutch]

This sounds like a law that would be enforced on hourly wage jobs. Is that right? I mean, if M Vaugn wants to work 50 hours a week on FM2006, he's allowed to right?

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Dutch

I mean, if M Vaugn wants to work 50 hours a week on FM2006, he's allowed to right?

No

[DaddyTorgo]

well i think SI may need an exception from the EU for FM2006. I mean it is a matter of national security and all.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I didn't read the article.

Nice job. *rimshot*