48-hour fight hots up
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by Karen Miles • Union efforts to cut truck drivers' hours are intensifying as Brussels prepares to impose a 48hour week on most other UK and Continental workers. The Trades Union Congress, which argues truck drivers should not be excluded from the new limit, is expected to increase pressure on the European Commission in an attempt to make it include transport workers.
A TUC spokesman says: "It is often transport workers who are faced with the longest working hours in Britain and who potentially put themselves and the public in the most danger through their tiredness. A 48-hour limit for drivers is surely not too much to ask." The Commission is currently excluding transport workers because it says they are covered by existing Brussels law. But some employment lawyers believe the TUC may be able to persuade the Commission to include transport workers on health and safety grounds.
The European Court of Justice is expected to rule in September that the Government cannot opt-out of imposing the new rules. Under the directive. employers cannot force staff to work more than 48 hours or 13 hours a day. There will also be a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours every 24 hours, and at least one weekly rest period of 24 consecutive hours.