The European Commission is not paying enough attention to the health and safety of workers in the circular economy, according to the European Public Service Union (EPSU).
In a report published on 3 September, the federation noted that work undertaken in the waste recycling and reuse sectors — key pillars of the circular economy — is often carried out by vulnerable and marginalised groups of workers.
These workers receive low wages and few employment rights, despite the dangerous conditions and health and safety risks inherent in their work, according to EPSU.
For Jan Willem Goudriaan, Secretary General of EPSU, “the design of the circular economy cannot be based solely on environmental criteria. It must give priority to quality jobs based on collective bargaining that guarantee the necessary health and safety standards”.
The organisation therefore deplores the fact that in the new EU action plan for the circular economy presented in March 2020, the European Commission does not mention “those workers upon whom they rely”, while three workers in the waste sector, one in Portugal and two in Spain, died a month earlier as a result of an accident at work.
See the report: https://bit.ly/32Ta18I (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)