News
BackIf one believes the media reports these days, there might be trouble coming from Brussels. Various reports informed that with regard to the well-known and controversial Working Time Directive, the authorities in Brussels had thought of something special. Politicians and representatives of the sector immediately reacted with panic. But panic is the worst recipe for keeping a cool head. And that was needed to prevent falling for unnecessary scaremongering. The reality is that neither the existence of voluntary activities of the fire brigade nor the rescue services are threatened by the EU.
European Social partners are in the process of negotiating the new Working Time Directive
2009 was a decisive year for the Working Time Directive. Years of negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council did not result in an agreement in respect of a new Working Time Directive. This resulted in the fact that the Working Time Directive, which had applied since 1993, remained in force and that the EU Commission had to find a way out of the dilemma. A revision of the Working Time Directive was on the cards; in particular due to the fact that the ECJ had decided that any on-call service was always deemed as working time and that the Member States did not comply with this rule. However, one must never lose sight of the fact that the Working Time Directive had been introduced to protect health and safety of employees. Last December, the European social partners agreed to enter into negotiations themselves to find a way out of this difficult situation and to come up with a solution. They have nine months to achieve this. So far, there have not been any results, but the negation partners have begun to gradually feeling their way through a potential minefield. Neither the EU Commission nor any other EU Institution has a say in the negotiations. That is why the heated atmosphere, created by the media, which spread the word that the “Eurocrats” in Brussels were considering to “get rid” of the volunteer fire brigade or the rescue services, has to be seen as pure populism. Unfortunately, the EU Commission missed the opportunity to clearly dismiss these allegations. It would be great if the Commission would be more assertive and forthcoming sometimes because not everything coming from Brussels is automatically bad or nonsense, as some like to see it.
Voluntary activity is a sector, which needs to be looked at in detail
Nobody would deny that in particular the voluntary sector may require special provisions to prevent complications from developing in future. This opinion is also shared by the European Commission. The European social partners are very well aware of this problem, and will, where required, find a solution. One thing, however, has become clear from the media debate of the last few days - there is still a lot of work to be done to throw light on the operating methods of the European Union. Admittedly, it is not always easy to understand the interaction between EU Commission, Council and EU Parliament. But this is, similar to the rules of the game applied to Austrian domestic politics, absolutely necessary to draw the right conclusions and react in time to deal with real dangers, which might be to the detriment of Austrian employers or consumers. This is exactly one of the responsibilities assumed by the AK EUROPA, the Brussels office of the Austrian Federal Chamber of Labour.
2009 was a decisive year for the Working Time Directive. Years of negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council did not result in an agreement in respect of a new Working Time Directive. This resulted in the fact that the Working Time Directive, which had applied since 1993, remained in force and that the EU Commission had to find a way out of the dilemma. A revision of the Working Time Directive was on the cards; in particular due to the fact that the ECJ had decided that any on-call service was always deemed as working time and that the Member States did not comply with this rule. However, one must never lose sight of the fact that the Working Time Directive had been introduced to protect health and safety of employees. Last December, the European social partners agreed to enter into negotiations themselves to find a way out of this difficult situation and to come up with a solution. They have nine months to achieve this. So far, there have not been any results, but the negation partners have begun to gradually feeling their way through a potential minefield. Neither the EU Commission nor any other EU Institution has a say in the negotiations. That is why the heated atmosphere, created by the media, which spread the word that the “Eurocrats” in Brussels were considering to “get rid” of the volunteer fire brigade or the rescue services, has to be seen as pure populism. Unfortunately, the EU Commission missed the opportunity to clearly dismiss these allegations. It would be great if the Commission would be more assertive and forthcoming sometimes because not everything coming from Brussels is automatically bad or nonsense, as some like to see it.
Voluntary activity is a sector, which needs to be looked at in detail
Nobody would deny that in particular the voluntary sector may require special provisions to prevent complications from developing in future. This opinion is also shared by the European Commission. The European social partners are very well aware of this problem, and will, where required, find a solution. One thing, however, has become clear from the media debate of the last few days - there is still a lot of work to be done to throw light on the operating methods of the European Union. Admittedly, it is not always easy to understand the interaction between EU Commission, Council and EU Parliament. But this is, similar to the rules of the game applied to Austrian domestic politics, absolutely necessary to draw the right conclusions and react in time to deal with real dangers, which might be to the detriment of Austrian employers or consumers. This is exactly one of the responsibilities assumed by the AK EUROPA, the Brussels office of the Austrian Federal Chamber of Labour.