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Working time: 10-hour night and self-employed exempted
Page 6
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WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE—FINAL
• by Mike Gordon Self-employed drivers will remain exempt from the Working Time Directive for the foreseeable future, according to the final version of the directive published this week.
But as predicted in Commercial Motor last week (CM 13-19 Dec) drivers will be allowed to work 10-hour night shifts and the "night" working period for this limit will be defined as 00:00-04:00hrs.
MEP Steven Hughes, the 'rapporteur' for the directive, says: "The WTD has finally been put to bed, subject to an official rubber stamping in February. As we predicted, both the [European] Parliament and the Commission have had to concede ground to agree. It's a miracle what we have achieved."
Following a great deal of argument all of the amendments put to the conciliation committee on Monday were agreed. There will be a three-year transition period up to 2005 for implementation of the directive in the member states, instead of the two years previously mooted, plus another four years for the regulations governing the self-employed.
In five years' time— two years before the selfemployed regulations are due to come into effect— there will be a study into the whole issue of the self-employed that could see them permanently excluded from the directive. However, the Commission is stressing that this will only apply in very specific circumstances, and the European Parliament remains adamant that self-employed workers must be brought into the fold.
ETA chief executive Richard Turner says: "This is fantastic news. The eight-hour night time allowance would hz decimated our network. would have meant more ve cies on the road, more c vers, and double-mannii This is major victory arc almost restores my faith European legislation."
Burt Proctor, director employee relations for T UK & Ireland, says: "T night-time driving regu tions are very welcome. . eight-hour window would have ultimati destroyed this business.
"A lot of our drivers will be disappoint about overtime restrictions, but this is t next problem for employers to look at."
• The next battle will be over Europe Parliament proposals to bring drivers of 7 tonners and urban delivery trucks within t scope of the WTD. "This battle will be some time in the new year," adds HughE