Builders and barmaids working outdoors will not have to be shielded from sunshine by their employers under European Union rules after a revolt by lawmakers on Wednesday. The European Parliament voted to leave it to individual EU states to regulate whether bosses should have to protect staff from the sun's harmful radiation, in a victory for pro-business conservative, liberal and nationalist deputies.
"It's a great victory for deregulation and less bureaucracy," German conservative Anja Weisgerber told Reuters. The proposal sparked a frenzy in the British and German tabloid press with warnings that buxom Bavarian beer garden barmaids in low-cut tops and bricklayers with naked torsos would have to cover up, although that was not what the draft law said.
Socialists and Greens argued EU legislation was vital to cut skin cancer rates among outdoor workers, but the right denounced it as an example of the nanny state running amok and over-burdening business.
British Socialist Stephen Hughes said an opportunity to give workers more information had been lost.
"No employer out there should think that this means they needn't take account of solar radiation," he told Reuters, adding that existing EU law laid down the principle of employer responsibility for over-exposure to sunlight.
Parliament rejected binding Europe-wide rules by 397 to 260 with nine abstentions - more than the absolute majority needed to amend legislation proposed by the executive European Commission and backed by the Council of EU member states.
Parliament, governments and the Commission must now meet in a conciliation committee to agree on the final wording.
In its original form, the Optical Radiation Directive would have forced employers to monitor workers' exposure to the sun, assess the risks and provide them with information.
The EU executive, which drafted the legislation to protect workers from exposure to artificial and natural radiation, said it would seek to balance worker rights with reaching a deal. Artificial radiation comes from devices such as lasers and ultra-violet lamps. All radiation can damage the skin and eyes. Business welcomed the vote.
"Today's vote is a victory for common sense," Hans-Werner Mueller, secretary-general of small and medium business lobby group UEAPME, said in a statement.
"The original proposals would ... create an unrealistic responsibility on employers with regard to sunlight exposure, setting a dangerous precedent in terms of future legal liability."
Irish conservative Avril Doyle said common sense had prevailed in the vote. "If ultimately I get skin cancer through irresponsible choices despite all the health warnings, should my employers be left to carry the can?" she asked in a statement.