MEPs on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) advocate extending the scope of the directive on the protection of workers from carcinogens and mutagens to include reprotoxic agents in the workplace, when they adopted (46 votes in favour, 6 abstentions) a report on the revision of the directive on Thursday 25 March. They are calling for an action plan to be presented by the end of the year to introduce 25 dangerous agents.
MEPs insist that these exposures necessarily take place in the workplace, regardless of the terms and conditions, such as the duration of employment and exposure.
And hazardous drugs (HDs) should be covered by EU law, they argue.
For example, the parliamentary commission states that women are over-represented among the oncology nursing community with potential exposure to hazardous drugs. This is a long-standing request of the European Parliament (see EUROPE 11735/23).
The parliamentarians also advocate a cross-cutting approach to the gender issue when developing occupational safety and health policies and prevention strategies.
In addition, MEPs call on the European Commission to present, by the end of the year, an action plan to achieve occupational exposure limit values for at least 25 substances in addition to those covered by this directive.
Finally, they approve the occupational exposure limits proposed by the Commission (see EUROPE 12565/24), i.e., the maximum amount of harmful substances to which workers can be exposed, for acrylonitrile and nickel compounds. MEPs are also adding a statement concerning skin for acrylonitrile and a statement on skin and respiratory sensitisation for nickel compounds. Finally, the maximum limit for benzene has been lowered.
Far-right rapporteur
Although the content of the report did not pose any major difficulties, the political talks were particularly heated over the rapporteur, Italian Stefania Zambelli, who comes from the far right.
The EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left groups submitted their own compromise amendments after rejecting those tabled by Ms Zambelli. On the other hand, they managed to postpone the vote on the negotiating mandate. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)