Chamber welcomes government stand on Working Time Directive

The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise has welcomed the agreement on the Working Time Directive (WTD) reached during this week’s EU Employment and Social Affairs Council held in Luxembourg.

"It is imperative that similar agreements which can put the concept of flexicurity into practice are stressed upon by governments all over Europe," the chamber said.

Chamber Director-General Kevin J. Borg said that there were various important aspects of this revised draft. One such fundamental issue – which was widely debated in Malta during the run-up to the EU-accession referendum – was the basic issue of the opt-out from the standard maximum limit of 48 hours average per week on a period of 17 weeks.

"The Chamber supports the position taken by the Maltese government on the draft proposal providing for a maximum capping of working time per week. As is, this is set at 60 hours averaged over a three-month period which is extendable through collective agreement. The Chamber insists that government’s proposal for this to be capped at 65 hours – instead of 60 hours – over a three-month period, could permit more flexibility without any imposition," Mr Borg said.

He said it should be left to employers and employees to strike the right balance whilst remaining flexible to reach higher competitive and productive levels which were sorely needed in the current bleak international economic scenario.