Malta retains opt-out from Working Time Directive

The European Parliament and the EU Council last night failed to reach a compromise on a revised Working Time Directive at the end of talks lasting months.

As a result, Malta may continue to opt-out from a rule imposing a capping of 48 hours on an employee's working week.

Disagreement ensued between MEPs and national diplomats in the so-called conciliation phase over three crucial points - the opt-out, on-call time and multiple contracts.

It is the first time that no agreement was reached in a conciliation committee, which is made up of delegations from the European Parliament and Council.

The Parliament had voted in December last year to cap workers' working week to a maximum of 48-hours while doing away with national opt-outs from the directive.

Given Malta's situation, Maltese MEPs had argued against the removal of the opt-out, following the political line adopted by the Maltese government in council which also reflected the position of Maltese unions in favour of the opt-out. But the report on working time had still gained support from the majority of the Parliament in Strasbourg.

Since there is no agreement at this stage, the current directive dating back to 1993 remains into force. The new Commission may draft a new proposal from scratch when it takes office later this year.

Such new legislation would need to take account the rulings of the European Court of Justice on-call time, which deems such on-call time as working time.

Positions in the European Parliament varied on the issue with a number of MEPs arguing that the 48-hour week allowed for a level of flexibility for workers and employers while respecting health and safety at work and increasing general labour standards. MEPs opposing the capping argued that workers should have the right to work long hours to fend for their families.