European Parliament
Martin, David (PSE ).
Mr President, I welcome the Cercas report and congratulate the rapporteur on a very balanced approach.
In the UK, 4 million people – or 16% of the workforce – currently work more than 40 hours per week. At the beginning of the 1990s the figure was 3.3 million people, or 15% of the workforce. It beggars belief that more people voluntarily want to work in excess of 40 hours a week now than was the case at the time of the introduction of this directive. This calls into question the use of the individual opt-out and whether genuine free choice of workers, as laid out in the directive, is being respected.
Long hours damage workers' health through stress and burnout; they affect the productivity of industry and harm family life. No one should be forced to work more than 40 hours. I support flexibility, but there must be genuine free choice, and I am not convinced that free choice currently exists.

