News

Despite the acknowledgement that it is a strategic objective of the EU, through shared competence, to promote occupational safety and health (OSH), the new Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020 strategy comes short of workers’ and social partners’ expectations.

The EU Commission recognises the fact that risk prevention advancement and the promotion of safer and healthier working environments are crucial for the improvement of job quality and working conditions. Investments in OSH and amelioration of working conditions are identified as cost-effective as well as productivity and competitiveness enhancing.

Through the new Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020 strategy, the EU Commission wishes to address demographic ageing and promote healthier working lives so that workers stay active longer addressing in that sense a key societal challenge.  

As laudable as this intention can be, the new EU Health and Safety Strategy is embedded in the REFIT agenda of administrative burden reduction and labour market deregulation. Worker’s health and safety must not be subject to cost savings particularly during a climate of deteriorating working conditions and work intensification patterns.

The new EU Health and Safety Strategy, in line with REFIT, will evaluate existing OSH legislation and take stock of the costs to companies of OSH compliance. This evaluation will not be finalised before 2015.

The new EU Health and Safety Strategy refers to the urgent need to address existing, new and emerging risks but does not propose any concrete initiative or policy action in that sense. On the contrary, the Strategy threatens to deregulate OSH and intensify the simplification of national regulations on the subject.

Although the Strategy identifies a number of challenges to be addressed (such as the capacity of SMEs to prevent risks, the tackling of new risks like nano-materials, musculoskeletal disorders, specific risks for women, psycho-social, mental disorders and specific types of cancers), it does not commit to improve legislation nor does it make concrete proposals to improve occupational health and safety.

“We see that the EU Commission recognises the urgent need to address health and safety at work. The proposal however comes in too late, two years after the expiry of the previous one! It is very disappointing that social partner’s recommendations are not taken on board” said Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary.

Commenting on the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work, Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary said “We are appalled by the weakness of this long-awaited Strategy which offers no concrete proposals to improve occupational health and safety. Even worse, embedded within the deregulatory REFIT framework, the EU Commission treats the all-important health and safety at work area as a mere element of cost reduction.”

Not only does the Commission exclude the adoption of new legislation in the area, it also washes its hands clean by refusing to take responsibility in the promotion of safe and healthy workplaces in Europe. The Commission claims that it will support the work of EU and national social partners in social dialogue and acknowledges the positive impact on workers’ health and safety of Social Partner Agreements.

It is ironic that the European Social Partner Agreement on Occupational Health and Safety in the Hairdressing sector is still under review by the Commission services and has not been transmitted to the Council for its implementing decision.

“Worker’s health and safety is crucial for the competitiveness of the European economy and the Commission fails to act upon its Treaty responsibilities. It proposes to further deregulate OSH legislation, effectively stopping new legislative proposals and demands the buy-in of social partners to implement its deregulatory agenda. This is unacceptable” said Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary.

The new EU Strategy is annexed.