The European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) expressed its concern in a statement on Wednesday 22 September about an amendment tabled by the ECR and the EPP to the Villumsen report, which aims to remove a concrete limit on occupational exposure to asbestos.
Rapporteur Nikolaj Villumsen (The Left, Denmark) proposes to introduce an occupational exposure limit of 1000 fibres/m3 (0.001 fibres/cm3). The proposal received strong support among the political groups, apart from the EPP and the ECR which, as reported earlier (see EUROPE 12701/10), proposes its deletion in an amendment.
“We cannot turn our backs on construction workers, firefighters, miners, and workers in cleaning or waste disposal, who are regularly exposed to asbestos. On asbestos, there is no right versus left! There is only one vote for zero cancer! The vote for 1,000 fibres/m3!”, said EFBWW Secretary General Tom Deleu.
The European Parliament’s desire to set a concrete limit has caused the European Commission, through its Director General of DG EMPL, to respect the autonomy of the social partners and to await the results of the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work.
The letter has provoked indignation in the European Parliament, where some MEPs, including the rapporteur, are concerned about the impact of the letter on Parliament’s autonomy to deal with political issues. Some even see it as an attack on the very principle of adopting an own-initiative report, according to an email seen by EUROPE.
The Villumsen report is expected to be adopted at the next meeting of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) on 27 September. The European Commission is expected to present an initiative by the end of 2022, if the social partners do not take up the issue. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)