Employers welcome failure of attempt to cap overtime

Employers have welcomed the news that the European Parliament's bid to cap the number of overtime hours has failed.

The collapse of negotiations on the matter is positive news for Malta, the Malta Employers Association said.

Their statement comes after the EP and member states decided last week that their respective positions on the Working Time Directive were irreconcilable and, therefore, that the proposal should now be scrapped. The proposal, considered to be one of the most controversial in recent times, had been discussed for the past five years at various stages.

The main bone of contention was an opt-out clause in the directive which currently allows member states to go beyond the directive's capped overtime limit of eight hours a week.

Governments forming the EU Council wanted to retain the possibility of opting out, thus ensuring their workforces remain flexible.

The MEA said social partners in Malta were united in defending employees' rights to work as much overtime as they pleased.

The opt-out clause already provided enough protection to employees who would rather not work more than eight hours overtime a week, the association said. "It is unrealistic to enforce a limit of an average of 48 hours per week on all employees, even when they give their consent".

According to EU rules, in the absence of an agreement, the directive allowing opt-outs remains in force. However, the Commission can still draft a new proposal from scratch.

Commission sources said a new proposal would take a long time to be drawn up because the Commission's mandate ends in November and this issue would definitely be left to the new Commission to deal with.