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The Centre For European Politics, Http://www.eupolitix.com/en/forum ...


The Centre for European Politics, http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/ForumBriefs/200405/23de3582-833e-49b0-866c-73ba2420c36f.htm, 27 May 2004 reported that the Forum of Private Businesses (FPB), in collaboration with the European SME Employers Organisation (UEAPME) was opposing certain changes to the directive.

They stated ‘The abolition of the opt-out could have a disastrous effect on many firms, impacting on their bottom line and forcing many companies to close. Costs could rise drastically as will the red tape and paperwork certain changes in legislation will impose. FPB considers that the opt-out must be maintained with the option of an independent opt-out agreement.'

They also cited that removing the opt-out option was against the small business ethos and freedom of choice for both employers and employees. Any closure of companies would have a direct impact on the economy and raise unemployment.

A survey carried out in April 1994, refer appendix 1, shows that 56% of the respondents expected any change to the opt-out option to increase the already burdensome costs for SME's. Due to the limitations of resources, both staff and money, within small businesses such companies cannot afford to do without the opt-out option. It is noted that in order to allow staff to opt-out, the burden of administration and record keeping falls to the SME in order to make this available to authorities.
In June 2005, the EU ministers met to discuss changes which could have resulted in an end to the opt-out by 2012. The ministers could not agree on the change and it again failed, with the British government stating that ‘scrapping the opt-out would have been unhelpful to Britain and the other member states' (BBC)
The information technology sector sees particular problems for IT contractors which would adversely affect the sector.

Infromatics, ref nvunet.com, 01/10/2004, quoting James Mortimer from the Association of Technology Staffing Companies, ATSCo, in the article EU directive could choke IT skills ‘proposed amendments to the EU Working Time Directive could trigger a serious skills crisis in the IT sector.' Ann Swain, the CEO said this legislation is designed to protect workers, but contractors want the flexibility to choose when, where and how they work. Flexibility is vital for contractors as well as for the organizations that employ them.
"Where problems need to be solved quickly they may have to put in a lot of hours in a short space of time. It's not for anybody to tell them they cannot do that."
Any attempt to limit IT contractors' rights to opt out of the directive could also lead to a serious IT skills shortage, added Swain.

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