Liz Lynne, the Lib Dem Euro MP for the West Midlands was relieved last night as negotiations between the European Parliament and representatives of EU Member States on proposed changes to the opt-out of the 48 hour limit in the Working Time Directive collapsed, meaning that the UK's opt-out is safe.

Liz Lynne, who is Vice-President of the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee, has led a campaign to keep the right of retained firefighters to opt out of the 48 hour limit in the directive and worked closely with the Retained Firefighters Union, which feared that if the battle to keep the opt-out on working time was lost, thousands of hours of emergency cover would be removed.

Speaking today Liz Lynne MEP said:

“I am relieved that planned changes to the rules have failed, this ensures that retained fire fighters in particular will be able to continue to provide their lifesaving service to rural communities.

“Plans supported by Labour MEPs to scrap the opt-out from the 48 hour week limit for firefighters would have seriously damage our fire service and put lives at risk.

“If the opt-out had been lost then it is not only firefighters who would have been hit, it would also be a disaster for many other working people and businesses trying to make ends meet in what are difficult economic times.

“I have always argued the retention of the UK's opt-out of the 48 hour week must be kept, so long as this is truly voluntary. Workers should be allowed to earn overtime if they wish to.

“Scrapping the opt-out could have pushed people into illegal work where they are not be covered by Health and Safety legislation including the dangerous machinery directive."

Proposed changes to EU legislation would have had a devastating impact on the retained fire fighters who provide up to 90% of emergency fire cover across the UK. Under the proposed new rules employees would only be allowed to work a maximum of 48 hours per week. For retained fire fighters, many of whom work another full or part time job in addition to being on call to attend emergencies; this would mean dramatically cutting down the hours they can provide to the fire service or even giving up their work as a fire fighter all together.

Negotiations between MEPs and the Ministers from the European Member States have been going on for months and came to a head in the early hours of this morning. After the meeting it was decided that no agreement could be reached meaning that proposed changes to the legislation will fall and the existing rules will prevail.

Liz Lynne MEP is the shadow rapporteur for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe and the only UK lead for any party involved in negotiations with government Ministers from Member States on the Working Time Directive.

Notes:

The Liberal Democrats had launched a petition supporting the firefighters: www.KeepTheOptOut.com