29/05/2020 (Agence Europe) – In a statement issued on Wednesday 27 May, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said it was “shocked” by the absence from the European Commission's 2020 work programme (see EUROPE 12494/9, 12493/25) of initiatives to make workplaces safer in the wake of the Covid-19 health crisis. In view of the high number of deaths caused by Covid-19 contamination in the workplace, this decision has surprised the unions. They also point out that, every year, 4,000 people in Europe lose their lives in the workplace and around 100,000 people die from work-related cancer. The Commission has recently been severely criticised for following the comitology decision and not classifying the Sars CoV-2 virus in the most dangerous biological agents category (see EUROPE 12491/17). (PH)