18.11.2003 Official Journal of the European Union L 299/9 DIRECTIVE 2003/88/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 4 November 2003 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com- munity, and in particular Article 137(2) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ('), Having consulted the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty (3), Whereas: (1) Council Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 1993, concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time (*), which lays down minimum safety and health requirements for the organisation of working time, in respect of periods of daily rest, breaks, weekly rest, maximum weekly working time, annual leave and aspects of night work, shift work and patterns of work, has been significantly amended. In order to clarify matters, a codification of the provisions in question should be drawn up. (2)  Article 137 of the Treaty provides that the Community is to support and complement the activities of the Member States with a view to improving the working environment to protect workers' health and safety. Directives adopted on the basis of that Article are to avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized undertak- ings. (3)  The provisions of Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work () remain fully applicable to the areas covered by this Directive without prejudice to more stringent and/or specific provisions contained herein. (4)  The improvement of workers' safety, hygiene and health at work is an objective which should not be subordi- nated to purely economic considerations. () 0] C 61, 14.3.2003, p. 123. (%) Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 December 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 22 September 2003. () OJ L 307, 13.12.1993, p. 18. Directive as amended by Directive 2000/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (O] L 195, 1.8.2000, p. 41). () OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1. () (10) (11) (12) All workers should have adequate rest periods. The concept of ‘rest’ must be expressed in units of time, i.. in days, hours andfor fractions thereof. Community workers must be granted minimum daily, weekly and annual periods of rest and adequate breaks. It is also necessary in this context to place a maximum limit on weekly working hours. Account should be taken of the principles of the Interna- tional Labour Organisation with regard to the organisa- tion of working time, including those relating to night work. Research has shown that the human body is more sensi- tive at night to environmental disturbances and also to certain burdensome forms of work organisation and that long periods of night work can be detrimental to the health of workers and can endanger safety at the work- place. There is a need to limit the duration of periods of night work, including overtime, and to provide for employers who regularly use night workers to bring this informa- tion to the attention of the competent authorities if they $0 request. It is important that night workers should be entitled to a free health assessment prior to their assignment and thereafter at regular intervals and that whenever possible they should be transferred to day work for which they are suited if they suffer from health problems. The situation of night and shift workers requires that the level of safety and health protection should be adapted to the nature of their work and that the organisation and functioning of protection and prevention services and resources should be efficient. Specific working conditions may have detrimental effects on the safety and health of workers. The organisation of work according to a certain pattern must take account of the general principle of adapting work to the worker. A European Agreement in respect of the working time of seafarers has been put into effect by means of Council Directive 1999/63/EC of 21 June 1999 concerning the Agreement on the organisation of working time of seafarers concluded by the European Community Ship- owners' Association (ECSA) and the Federation of Trans- port Workers' Unions in the European Union (FST) (%) based on Article 139(2) of the Treaty. Accordingly, the provisions of this Directive should not apply to seafarers. () OJ L 167, 2.7.1999, p. 33.