By Bruno Waterfield - 23rd January 2006
Europe’s civil servants are set to go on flexi-time by April in a bid to cut the European commission’s long-hours culture, EU officials said on Monday.
Agreement on internal proposals to give commission officials greater flexibility in terms of working hours and the technology to work form home are close.
Officials from the EU executive’s DG Admin department are confident new work patterns across the commission will be adopted “in the next two months”.
But an internal consultation has run into opposition from some commission DGs, or departments, that do not currently offer flexi-time to eurocrats.
Some Brussels departments and senior EU civil servant grades work long hours to keep pace with changing events or long meeting sessions between governments.
“Some less imaginative colleagues find flexi-time difficult to reconcile. I think we will override these objections and impose flexitime nevertheless,” said an official.
The move is being pushed in order to break down a “male work culture” within the commission and to boost equal opportunities for women.
“There is a work related male culture based on long hours and late meetings. This does not help women, or men, who want to care for the family as well as work,” said an official.
Flexitime arrangements will be based around core hours – 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2.30pm to 5pm – but all staff must work a minimum 37.5 hour week.
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