This petition was submitted during the 2015–2017 Conservative government
Petition Preserve the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) in the United Kingdom
The EWTD (2003/88/EC) gives EU workers the right to rest breaks and rest of at least 11 hours in any 24 hours; it restricts excessive night work and provides for a right to work no more than 48 hours in one week. David Cameron is dangerously proposing to opt the UK out of the EWTD.
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The EWTD serves to protect both the health and safety of workers, but also those who may be cared for, treated by or helped by these workers in numerous sectors including the health, social care, police and fire services. For example in health care there is a wealth of robust evidence demonstrating that fatigued staff make poorer decisions and are far more likely to make errors which may lead to significant patient harm. The move to withdraw from EWTD is both dangerous and regressive.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
Related activity
Share your views with MPs on work and employment conditions
A group of MPs called the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee are investigating work and employment conditions. You can help them.
Do you have experience of agency work, being self-employed, working casual hours or working in short term temporary jobs, sometimes called the 'gig economy'?
Share your views on one, or more, of the following questions:
· If you’re a casual or agency worker or work on a zero-hours contract, do you feel the balance of benefits between you and your employer is appropriate?
· Do you work ‘flexible’ hours (for example, you or your employer chooses which hours you work each week)? If so, do you like the flexibility of how you work or does this cause problems for you?
· Are there general issues around terms and conditions in your work that you’d like to comment on?
You can post your views on the Committee's forum: http://www.parliament.uk/world-of-work-forum
The Committee will produce a report at the end of its investigations and make recommendations for Government action. The Government will then respond. We will keep you informed.
What is the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee?
The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee looks at and questions how the Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
· is run
· spends money
· decides on its policies
It's a cross-party committee and is independent of the Government.
You can find out more about the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee on its website: parliament.uk/beis
You can follow the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee on Twitter: @CommonsBEIS
This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c&feature=youtu.be