Civil aviation social partners conclude working time accord

An agreement on the organisation of working time was concluded on 22 March 2000 between the European-level social partners in civil aviation, within the framework of the sector's social dialogue. The deal, which adapts the principles of the EU working time Directive to this sector, should be given legal effect by a Council decision.

The European-level social partners in the air transport sector – theEuropean Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), the European Cockpit Association (ECA), the Association of European Airlines (AEA), the European Regions Airlines Association (ERA) and theInternational Air Carrier Association (IACA) – signed an agreement on the organisation of working time on 22 March 2000, after nearly a year of talks. These organisations together represent more than 300,000 civil aviation employees and 150 European airlines.

The purpose of this agreement is "to adapt the principles contained in the 1993 EU working time Directive (93/104/EC) to the needs of the aviation industry (which was excluded from the Directive - EU9901144F), while ensuring adequate health and safety protection for air crews." Negotiated within the framework of the social dialogue in this sector, it refers to Articles 138 and 139(2) of the European Community Treaty- which provide for theEuropean Commission to consult the social partners on potential social legislation, for the partners instead to seek to negotiate an agreement on the issue, and for any such agreement to be given legal effect, at the request of the signatories and on a proposal by the Commission, by a Council decision (in practice, a Directive). The agreement applies to mobile staff in civil aviation and contains the following main provisions:

• annual leave of four weeks;

• free health assessments at regular intervals;

• a maximum annual working time limit of 2,000 hours;

• a maximum annual "block flight time" limit of 900 hours (defined as the time between an aircraft first moving from its parking place for the purpose of taking off until it comes to rest in the designated parking position and until all engines are stopped);

• minimum rest requirements of an average of seven "local days" a month; and

• a minimum rest of 96 "local days" a year.

ETF assistant general secretary Brenda O'Brien stated that the agreement "will contribute to a harmonious development of the European aviation industry, while ensuring minimum health and safety protection for approximately 10,000 European air crew, both in the cockpit and in the cabin". She called on the European institutions to support and implement the deal as soon as possible – the social partners have asked for it be given legal effect by a Council decision.

However, ECA stressed that this agreement will provide for minimum social standards only and as such will not guarantee safety and eliminate fatigue. ECA is therefore pressing for an additional regulation which would place controls on rostering. According to Francesco Gentile, the ECA president: "This agreement cannot be seen in isolation from one important missing element of the European aviation single market: the long-awaited EU regulation on flight time and duty time limitations and rest requirements. In fact the text of the agreement on working time, supported by the aviation industry, makes a specific reference to the need to quickly chalk up progress on this issue which is vital for the promotion of safety operations within the airline industry."

The Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner, Anna Diamantopoulou, welcomed the accord, saying: "The agreement is an important contribution to the Lisbon summit on employment, economic reform and social cohesion (EU0001220N]. Social partners in the civil aviation sector demonstrate their ability to take the lead in promoting new patterns of working life and in modernising the contractual framework for the organisation of work. It is hoped that the agreement will provide the political momentum to continue such engaging actions within the newly created social dialogue committee in the sector."