People in Ireland work more hours and get fewer holidays than most of their European counterparts, new figures show.
In a major statistical analysis published yesterday, the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) said Ireland ranked with Estonia, Belgium, Latvia and Lithuania as a "notably low-leave" country.
Workers in Ireland are entitled to fewer days off than those in any other EU country except Belgium and Hungary, the analysis found. They also work far more hours than their counterparts in longer-established EU states.
In fact, annual working time in Ireland and Greece is similar to the average for the 10 new member states which joined the Union on May 1st, 2004.
Workers in these countries work nearly 6 per cent longer - or the equivalent of 2.5 weeks per year - than their counterparts in the 15 states that made up the EU prior to enlargement.
The EIRO is a European Union body based in Dublin which monitors industrial relations developments across EU member states and those which are candidates to join, as well as in Norway.
The figures were contained in its annual update on working time developments in Europe, and revealed wide variations in hours worked and time off allowed across the Continent.
Workers in Ireland fared worse than the EU average in all categories. They worked 41.8 hours per week, for example, more than those in countries including Romania, Hungary and Lithuania. The EU average was 41.3.
Irish workers' statutory entitlement to 20 days' leave plus nine public holidays also compared poorly with statistics for other countries.
Workers in Sweden came out on top in this category, with 42 guaranteed days off per year compared to Ireland's 29. Hungary was bottom of the table with 26 days. The statutory maximum working week in Ireland is also the highest permitted within the EU, at 48 hours.
Thirteen other EU states have a similar upper limit, but workers in a range of countries including Sweden, Spain and Slovenia work a maximum of 40 hours.
Ireland is also joint top of the list for the statutory maximum working day of 13 hours, compared with eight hours in countries such as Germany, Bulgaria, Portugal and Latvia.
The full report can be accessed at www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/2006/08/update/tn0608101u.html
