The European Commission presented, on Monday 28 June, its European strategic framework on health and safety at work for the period of 2021-2027 (occupational safety and health - (OSH)) which is structured around the emerging challenges of the dual green and digital transition, but also on the lessons drawn from the pandemic.
“For many, the concept of the traditional workplace is rapidly disappearing. While this development brings opportunities, it also brings challenges and risks - health, psychological and social”, said the Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis.
“Fatal accidents at work in the EU have decreased by about 70% between 1994 and 2018 - but there is still a long way to go”, commented the Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit. He recalled that in 2018, there were still 3,300 fatal workplace accidents, 3.1 million non-fatal accidents and 200,000 deaths from work-related diseases (such as cancer) in the EU.
There are few changes from the version obtained by EUROPE (see EUROPE 12746/9).
Built on a patchwork of legislative actions and non-binding measures, the strategic framework is based on three pillars: - Anticipating and managing change in the new world of work (notably digital); - improving prevention of work-related diseases and accidents; - increasing preparedness for possible future health threats.
On the legislative front, the Commission wants to revise the Workplaces Directive and the Display Screen Equipment Directive.
It intends to update the protection limits for asbestos and lead and prepare a non-legislative EU-level initiative on mental health at work. The objective here is to assess the emerging challenges related to workers’ mental health and to put forward guidance for action.
The Commission is promoting a “vision zero” approach to eliminate work-related deaths in the EU. To this end, it intends to propose protective limit values on asbestos in the Asbestos at Work Directive (in 2022), on lead and diisocyanates in the Chemical Agents Directive (in 2022), and on cobalt in the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (first quarter of 2024).
It also hopes to draw up a priority list of reprotoxic substances by the end of 2021 and provide updated guidelines (on training, protocol, monitoring and follow-up) to protect workers from exposure to hazardous medicines in 2022.
When asked by EUROPE about the absence of these substances from the fourth CMD on mutagens and carcinogens at work, the Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, explained that the European Commission was acting primarily on the basis of scientific data.
Furthermore, with regard to dangerous medical products, the Commissioner pointed out that the handling of these products should first be explained to the persons concerned (such as nurses, care assistants) before limit values are imposed.
Regarding harassment and violence against women, the European Commission wants to present, by the end of the year, a legislative initiative on combating gender-based violence as well as domestic violence against women.
Responding to EUROPE on this last point, the Commissioner said that due to the rise in remote working, domestic violence is increasingly about violence at work.
Finally, in response to the consequences of the pandemic, the institution will develop emergency procedures and guidelines to respond rapidly to new health crises. The institution will therefore launch an in-depth assessment of the effects of the pandemic on European and national OSH frameworks as soon as possible.
It will update its recommendations on occupational diseases to include Covid-19 by 2022.
Finally, it will develop guidance for labour inspectors on assessing the quality of risk assessments and risk management measures under the Biological Agents Directive by 2022 (the Directive that was in the news when SARS-CoV-2 was classified).
On the internal front, the Commission calls on the Member States to update their national strategies on safety and health at work. On the external front, the institution will continue its efforts to raise safety and health standards in third countries.
Lack of ambition
The proposal generated a number of reactions, some positive, notably from BusinessEurope, which insisted on the role of the social partners, and some negative, such as from the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC ).
ETUC Deputy General Secretary Esther Lynch has called on her Twitter account for clarification on whether the self-employed are covered by the scope of the OSH.
In general, trade unions regret that the OSH does not cover the 50 priority carcinogens and note the absence of the issue of cocktail effects of chemicals as well as endocrine disruptors. They also note the lack of legislative initiatives for mental health and musculoskeletal disorders.
Kim van Sparrentak (Greens/EFA, The Netherlands), for her part, expressed concern about the lack of action to regulate artificial intelligence or to combat violence against women. On the other hand, another source regrets the absence of an initiative on the right to disconnect. Here, when asked by EUROPE, the Commissioner explained that the institution would follow up the own-initiative report as appropriate, without mentioning a possible legislative initiative.
It is true that the European Parliament, in its own-initiative report, called for an initiative, while respecting the implementation of a framework negotiated by the European social partners, which postponed any legislative action for three years (see EUROPE 12640/12).
To consult the strategic framework: https://bit.ly/3hhddSC (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)