EU labour ministers will meet in Brussels today to try to avert a legal crisis that could potentially cost EU healthcare providers billions of euros in wage claims.
The problem relates to two European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings that "on-call" time should be paid at the full working rate. The court judgments have caused alarm in the health sector, where doctors and other staff often work "on call".
Germany recently warned it would be forced to hire an extra 5,000 doctors, while the UK estimates that it could cost the National Health Service hundreds of millions of pounds in extra wage costs.
The Republic is one of 23 states which are not in compliance with the rulings, according to the European Commission, which is now threatening legal action against states unless they agree a wider EU deal to implement the so- called working time directive.
This directive is a key piece of EU legislation that sets regulations on hours of work to protect the health and safety of workers.
For example, it limits the maximum length of a working week to 48 hours in seven days, and sets a minimum rest period of 11 hours each day. Several states, notably the UK and Poland, have opted out of the directive, prompting a two-year dispute with countries such as France, Italy and Spain.
At an emergency meeting in Brussels today, the holder of the six-month rotating EU presidency, Finland, will propose a compromise that would raise the maximum working time a week to 60 hours and allow for the gradual phase-out of the opt out.
It would also address the threat to healthcare providers by the ECJ ruling on "on-call" time. Under the proposal, inactive "on-call" time should not be considered working time and should be compensated for by a rest period within a reasonable period rather than immediately, as the court ruled.
EU diplomats however warned last night that an agreement was unlikely, due to opposition from the UK, which wants to retain its opt out. If no deal is reached, it could prompt the commission to initiate legal action against states that do not comply with the rulings. A Government spokesman said the Republic supported the Finnish proposal.
