Conservative MEPs have campaigned to protect the UK's all important opt-out of the EU's Working Time Directive. If the opt-out was removed the working week in the UK would have been restricted to a maximum of 48 hours - so even if people wanted to work extra hours to help pay the bills they would simply not have been allowed to.
In December 2008, Labour MEPs voted to remove the opt-out and undermine the ability of British workers to choose the hours they work. This was completely against the position of their own Labour government which in June 2008 reached an agreement in the EU Council of Ministers to keep the UK's opt-out in exchange for concessions on another controversial employment package - The Agency Workers Directive.
Conservative employment spokesman Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP led the campaign to protect the opt-out and was heavily involved in the talks between the EU Parliament and the Council of Ministers. At these meetings he continued to fight to keep the opt-out for the tens of thousands of UK workers who take advantage it and the businesses who rely on it - Labour MEPs fought for the opposite. Luckily for British workers we WON and our opt-out remains!! Read More
Speaking after the talks collapsed, Philip said "parliament also had a mandate to negotiate, but chose not to", he added. "But the good news is that the opt-out remains, and millions of workers throughout the EU will no longer be dictated to by politicians who claim to know better than the people themselves how to run their lives. In the UK alone over 3 million people choose to work longer hours in order to fend for their families: their freedom to choose is now preserved".
Within hours of Conservatives saving the opt-out for the time being, Socialist MEPs had already put the British people on notice that they will attempt once more to scrap the opt-out after the European Parliament elections in June 2009.