§ Mr. MillerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what estimates he has made of the effects of the proposed workers time directive on off-shore oil and gas workers; and what derogations have been negotiated for such workers.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThe proposed EC working time directive would have been wholly inappropriate to working patterns off-shore. As a result of our negotiations the Social Affairs Council agreed on 1 June that all work at sea would be excluded from the scope of the proposed directive. If and when the directive is adopted it would therefore not affect the working time of workers on off-shore installations, divers and workers in other related activities at sea.