Trade union for hospitality and tourism sector - English

Strasbourg, 16th December, 2008. EFFAT opposes to the June 2008 Council proposals as they do not safeguard a proper organisation of work and working time in terms of healthy working hours, a better work-life balance and decent wages, having a negative impact on our sectors...
On 17 December 2008, the European Parliament will vote on a proposal for a revision of the Working Time Directive (WTD). Today, 16 December, EFFAT is protesting in Strasbourg, together with ETUC against the weakening of this Directive and for the protection of workers’ rights.

The EU Council is on its way to give to the European social model a harmful step back by keeping in place the individual ‘opt-out’, whereby employers can agree with individual workers not to apply maximum working hours; and by defining so-called inactive parts of on-call duty as not being working time, even when the worker has to be available in the workplace. EFFAT’s sectors are directly affected, particularly the workers from hotels and restaurants whose health is seriously at stake.

To block the Council’s unacceptable position, the whole European Parliament needs to adopt, with an absolute majority on every single amendment, the report drawn up by MEP Alejandro Cercas, which has already been agreed in the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.

The Euro-demonstration “Priority to workers’ rights, not longer working hours” on 16 December 2008 in Strasbourg aims at encouraging the European Parliament to do the right thing and vote down the Council’s proposals on the WTD.

EFFAT members’ organisations from European Member States came to demonstrate their opposition, expecting the European Parliament to exercise its democratic role and vote in favour of a Social Europe, closer to the people, in respect with workers rights and health!