`Good day for social Europe' - Flynn

THE EU's Commissioner for Social Affairs, Mr Padraig Flynn, yesterday expressed delight at the ruling of the European Court of Justice on the Working Time Directive.

The (curt had ruled that the Council of Ministers was entitled to prescribe maximum working hours, and minimum rest periods and holidays under a treaty clause designed to enhance health and safety ate work. The court found for Britain, however, that the directive's requirement that Sunday "in principle" be a rest period was not a health-based provision and therefore not acceptable in the directive.

The directive was adopted in 1993 under a clause (Article 118A of the EC Treaty) which pre-existed the British Social Chapter opt-out and which permits the use of qualified majority vote - in fact the directive was agreed by unanimity with Britain alone abstaining.

Last night, British diplomats lodged with the Council of Ministers' Secretariat proposals for Treaty changes which would make future decisions under Article 118A subject to unanimity and for a protocol which would have the effect of excluding Britain from the provisions of the directive.

Mr Flynn said he hoped Britain would move speedily now to transpose the directive into its domestic legislation, promising full Commission co-operation.

Responding to British criticism, Mr Flynn insisted that it was "pro-health and safety, pro-employment, and pro-family... This is a good day for social Europe and a good day for those who believe that employees should have the right to say no to excessive working hours".

Mr Flynn said he did not believe Britain would be successful on getting the decision reversed in the IGC - to do so would require unanimity which would certainly not be forthcoming. The Commission saw no need to amend Article 118A.