This letter was sent to the General Director of the European Commission in charge of employment and social affairs.

Dear Mr Larsson,

We welcome the Commission's report on the state of implementation of Directive 93/104/EC.  In our view, it is of great importance to assess the application of EU law at national level.  This is particularly important when deciding whether and in what areas a legal instrument should be revised.  However, we do not consider that the Commission's report gives a complete picture of the state of implementation.  We would recommend that the social partners should be involved in drawing up such a report from a very early stage.

Our key concern with the report is that it does not look sufficiently closely at the derogations allowed under Arts. 17 and 18.  While the report generally lists the use made of some derogations, it does not make any statements on the consequences for employees concerned, in terms of their working conditions as well as heath and safety aspects.  Considering that the directive is based on Art. 137, the latter in particular is surprising.

Representing professional and managerial staff, EUROCADRES reiterates its view that the general exclusion of this group of workers is unsatisfactory and in conflict with health and safety considerations.  Our discussions with EUROCADRES affiliates on this report confirmed our concerns expressed to the Commission on various occasions before.  Professional and managerial staff are also faced, if not to a greater degree than other workers, with excess working hours and as a result with stress, burnout and extended periods of sickness. (This was one of the results of the EUROCADRES Symposium "Working Time of Professional Mangers" in December 1997 ).  Recent statistics published by EUROSTAT show a worsening of workload for managers (see EUROCADRES Flash no 19 - October 1999 ).  Neither does the derogation facilitate the introduction of a better balance between work and family life.  Moreover, it is an obstacle to the principle of equality.  It reinforces the traditional management methods and the organisation of working time that make it difficult for women to gain managerial positions.

Regarding the definitions of workers in Art 17.1, we also would have liked that the Commission had evaluated the objectivity of criteria used to justify exclusion.  Indeed, we think that the different extent to which use was made of Art. 17.1 by the member states shows that a more precise definition is possible.

Another aspect that does not feature in the report is the derogation that allows workers to opt-out by agreement from the 48 hours requirement (Art. 18.1). Looking at Britain, the situation is alarming.  Effectively, it allows companies to "encourage" workers to opt out.  Moreover, despite union opposition only minimal records are kept, in fact often only a list of names in maintained.

A further point, that should have been examined, is how national laws handle intermediary categories of working time, such as readiness to work, travel and on call duty.  Closely related is the easiness with which companies can contact workers around the clock today.  No real assessment of its impact has been made, especially on a person's spare time, his privacy and his family/personal life.

Unpaid overtime has also implications for taxation and social security contributions.

In our view, all these aspects suggest that the Commission should undertake a more comprehensive inquiry on the implementation of the working time directive and its actual implications against the background of the intentions of the EU legislator.  A good way forward would be the seminar on working time suggested by the ETUC.

In conclusion, we like to restate EUROCADRES position, especially in light of the actual implementation, that the working time directive needs to be revised urgently.  In particular, EUROCADRES requests the Commission to initiate the necessary steps to end the broad exclusion for many professional and managerial staff and the provision for opting out as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Michel Rousselot

EUROCADRES President

EUROCADRES:Brussels, 28 March 2000 (Ref: 00-198B)