Legal provisions of COM(1998)662-2 - Amendment of Directive 93/104/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time to cover sectors and activities excluded from that Directive - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(1998)662-2 - Amendment of Directive 93/104/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time to cover sectors and ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(1998)662  |
| date | June 22, 2000 |
Article 1
1. Article 1(3) shall be replaced by the following:
"3. This Directive shall apply to all sectors of activity, both public and private, within the meaning of Article 2 of Directive 89/391/EEC, without prejudice to Articles 14 and 17 of this Directive.
This Directive shall not apply to seafarers, as defined in Council Directive 1999/63/EC of 21 June 1999 concerning the Agreement on the organisation of working time of seafarers, concluded by the European Community Shipowners' Association (ECSA) and the Federation of Transport Workers' Unions in the European Union (FST)(7) without prejudice to Article 2(8) of this Directive.";
2. in Article 2, the following shall be added:
"7. mobile worker shall mean any worker employed as a member of travelling or flying personnel by an undertaking which operates transport services for passengers or goods by road, air or inland waterway.
8. offshore work shall mean work performed mainly on or from offshore installations (including drilling rigs), directly or indirectly in connection with the exploration, extraction or exploitation of mineral resources, including hydrocarbons, and diving in connection with such activities, whether performed from an offshore installation or a vessel.
9. adequate rest shall mean that workers have regular rest periods, the duration of which is expressed in units of time and which are sufficiently long and continuous to ensure that, as a result of fatigue or other irregular working patterns, they do not cause injury to themselves, to fellow workers or to others and that they do not damage their health, either in the short term or in the longer term.";
3. In Article 5, the following subparagraph shall be deleted:"The minimum rest period referred to in the first subparagraph shall in principle include Sunday."
4. Article 14 shall be replaced by the following:
"Article 14 - More specific Community provisions
This Directive shall not apply where other Community instruments contain more specific requirements relating to the organisation of working time for certain occupations or occupational activities."5. Article 17(2.1) shall be replaced by the following:
"2.1. from Articles 3, 4, 5, 8 and 16:
(a) in the case of activities where the worker's place of work and his place of residence are distant from one another, including offshore work, or where the worker's different places of work are distant from one another;
(b) in the case of security and surveillance activities requiring a permanent presence in order to protect property and persons, particularly security guards and caretakers or security firms;
(c) in the case of activities involving the need for continuity of service or production, particularly:
(i) services relating to the reception, treatment and/or care provided by hospitals or similar establishments, including the activities of doctors in training, residential institutions and prisons;
(ii) dock or airport workers;
(iii) press, radio, television, cinematographic production, postal and telecommunications services, ambulance, fire and civil protection services;
(iv) gas, water and electricity production, transmission and distribution, household refuse collection and incineration plants;
(v) industries in which work cannot be interrupted on technical grounds;
(vi) research and development activities;
(vii) agriculture;
(viii) workers concerned with the carriage of passengers on regular urban transport services;
(d) where there is a foreseeable surge of activity, particularly in:
(i) agriculture;
(ii) tourism;
(iii) postal services;
(e) in the case of persons working in railway transport:
(i) whose activities are intermittent;
(ii) who spend their working time on board trains; or
(iii) whose activities are linked to transport timetables and to ensuring the continuity and regularity of traffic.".
6. In Article 17(2) the following shall be added:
"2.4. from Articles 6 and 16(2) in the case of doctors in training:
(a) with respect to Article 6, for a transitional period of five years from 1 August 2004.
(i) Member States may have up to two more years, if necessary, to take account of difficulties in meeting the working time provisions with respect to their responsibilities for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care. At least six months before the end of the transitional period, the Member State concerned shall inform the Commission giving its reasons, so that the Commission can give an opinion, after appropriate consultations, within the three months following receipt of such information. If the Member State does not follow the opinion of the Commission, it will justify its decision. The notification and justification of the Member State and the opinion of the Commission shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities and forwarded to the European Parliament.
(ii) Member States may have an additional period of up to one year, if necessary, to take account of special difficulties in meeting the abovementioned responsibilities. They shall follow the procedure set out in paragraph (i).
Within the context of the transitional period:
(iii) Member States shall ensure that in no case will the number of weekly working hours exceed an average of 58 during the first three years of the transitional period, an average of 56 for the following two years and an average of 52 for any remaining period.
(iv) The employer shall consult the representatives of the employees in good time with a view to reaching an agreement, wherever possible, on the arrangements applying to the transitional period. Within the limits set out in point (iii), such an agreement may cover:
- the average number of weekly hours of work during the transitional period; and
- the measures to be adopted to reduce weekly working hours to an average of 48 by the end of the transitional period;
(b) with respect to Article 16(2), provided that the reference period does not exceed 12 months, during the first part of the transitional period specified in paragraph (a) (iii), and six months thereafter.";
7. The following Articles shall be inserted:
"Article 17 - a Mobile workers and offshore work
1. Articles 3, 4, 5 and 8 shall not apply to mobile workers.2. Member States shall, however, take the necessary measures to ensure that such mobile workers are entitled to adequate rest, except in the circumstances laid down in Article 17(2.2).
3. Subject to compliance with the general principles relating to the protection of the safety and health of workers, and provided that there is consultation of representatives of the employer and employees concerned and efforts to encourage all relevant forms of social dialogue, including negotiation if the parties so wish, Member States may, for objective or technical reasons or reasons concerning the organisation of work, extend the reference period referred to in Article 16(2) to twelve months in respect of workers who mainly perform offshore work.
4. On 1 August 2005 the Commission shall, after consulting the Member States and management and labour at European level, review the operation of the provisions with regard to offshore workers from a health and safety perspective with a view to presenting, if need be, the appropriate modifications.
Article 17 - b Workers on board sea-going fishing vessels
1. Articles 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 shall not apply to any worker on board a sea-going fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State.2. Member States shall, however, take the necessary measures to ensure that any worker on board a sea-going fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State is entitled to adequate rest and to limit the number of hours of work to 48 hours a week on average calculated over a reference period not exceeding 12 months.
3. Within the limits set out in paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, in keeping with the need to protect the safety and health of such workers,
(a) the working hours are limited to a maximum number of hours which shall not be exceeded in a given period of time, or
(b) a minimum number of hours of rest are provided within a given period of time.
The maximum number of hours of work or minimum number of hours of rest shall be specified by law, regulations, administrative provisions or by collective agreements or agreements between the two sides of the industry.
4. The limits on hours of work or rest shall be either:
(a) maximum hours of work which shall not exceed:
(i) 14 hours in any 24-hour period, and
(ii) 72 hours in any seven-day period;
or
(b) minimum hours of rest which shall not be less than:
(i) 10 hours in any 24-hour period, and
(ii) 77 hours in any seven-day period.
5. Hours of rest may be divided into no more than two periods, one of which shall be at least six hours in length, and the interval between consecutive periods of rest shall not exceed 14 hours.
6. In accordance with the general principles of the protection of the health and safety of workers, and for objective or technical reasons or reasons concerning the organisation of work, Member States may allow exceptions, including the establishment of reference periods, to the limits laid down in paragraphs 2, 4 and 5. Such exceptions shall, as far as possible, comply with the standards laid down but may take account of more frequent or longer leave periods or the granting of compensatory leave for the workers. These exceptions may be laid down by means of
(i) laws, regulations or administrative provisions provided there is consultation, where possible, of the representatives of the employers and workers concerned and efforts are made to encourage all relevant forms of social dialogue, or
(ii) collective agreements or agreements between the two sides of industry.
7. The master of a sea-going fishing vessel shall have the right to require workers on board to perform any hours of work necessary for the immediate safety of the vessel, persons on board or cargo, or for the purpose of giving assistance to other vessels or persons in distress at sea.
8. Members States may provide that workers on board sea-going fishing vessels for which national legislation or practice determines that these vessels are not allowed to operate in a specific period of the calendar year exceeding one month, shall take annual leave in accordance with Article 7 within the abovementioned period."
Article 2
2. When Member States adopt the measures referred to in paragraph 1, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by the Member States.
3. Without prejudice to the right of Member States to develop, in the light of changing circumstances, different legislative, regulatory or contractual provisions in the field of working time, as long as the minimum requirements provided for in this Directive are complied with, implementation of this Directive shall not constitute valid grounds for reducing the general level of protection afforded to workers.
4. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the provisions of national law already adopted or being adopted in the field governed by this Directive.