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Working Time opt-out Jeopardised by Labour Rebels
Strasbourg, 17th December 2008
The Working Time directive opt-out is in jeopardy after Labour's two Yorkshire MEPs voted to scrap it, Timothy Kirkhope, Conservative MEP for Yorkshire and leader of Conservative MEPs, warned today.
Immediately after the vote, Conservatives called on the British government to 'dig in' to ensure the Council of Ministers does not back down on its position of supporting the opt-out. As the European Parliament and Council of Ministers now have differing opinions, they will now enter a period of 'conciliation' in an attempt to reach a compromise.
Mr Kirkhope said:
"Socialist MEPs have won the battle today, but they must not be allowed to win the war.
"The British government must dig in and defend the opt-out. Yorkshire's Labour MEPs have defied Gordon Brown to vote against British jobs. They should be ashamed of themselves.
It should never be the place of the European Parliament to tell people they cannot work - particularly during a downturn. Scrapping our Working Time opt-out is even more nonsensical in today's economic climate than ever before."
ENDS
