Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-10-Speech-2-047"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2005-05-10"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Organisation of working time2
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20050510.4.2-047"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2005-05-10-Speech-2-0482
lpv:speaker	lp:Jean Lambert2
lpv:spoken text	". Madam President, we too would like to thank the rapporteur and others for the work that has been done on this revision of the working time directive. For our Group, this is an extremely important piece of legislation. The limitation of working time has been an historic struggle for the labour movement and we should not be giving that away in the 21st century. But according to a recent report from the Work Foundation, based in the UK, the pattern of working in excess of 60 hours a week is prevalent now throughout the European Union, particularly in certain sectors. I think this is something that we should not be welcoming but should actually be very worried about. For the Verts/ALE Group the control of working time is also about who controls your life, and this working time directive applies to employees. It is very important that people realise that. This is not just about having flexibility as a one-way street, but of bringing in the rights of employees. It is a health and safety issue. Tired workers are dangerous workers, whether they are operating on you or driving home. It is also a social health issue, in terms of a work/life balance, if we want our citizens to be active citizens involved in a whole set of other things. You cannot do that if you are working the entire time. But the opt-out is a big issue for us. We will be told that this is about workers having a choice. A lot of the evidence shows that it is not a choice. It is something that is put in front of workers who are asked to sign away their rights to avoid employers having to negotiate or do paper work. Indeed, we find that in the UK two thirds of workers do not even know there is a limit to their working time. For us the issue of on-call time as working time is also important, whether you are working in a burger bar or a hospital, and the compensatory rest element is also crucial, given that stress is one of the biggest causes of time off work and that is linked to working time."@en1
lpv:spokenAs	member_of_the_bureau; G/EFA (2004-11-14--2005-05-23)3 substitute; LIBE (2004-07-21--2007-01-14)3 substitute; Delegation for relations with Japan (2004-09-15--2007-03-13)3 unknown; Green Party (2004-07-20--2009-07-13)3 substitute; DROI (2004-07-21--2007-01-14)3 member; EMPL (2004-07-21--2007-01-14)3 member; Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia and the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) (2004-09-15--2007-03-13)3
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Jean Lambert,"1 "on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group"1

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