A majority of Member States “are failing to support health and safety at work as a fundamental and international right”, said the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) on Monday 24 October, denouncing in a statement that a total of 16 Member States have “not ratified one or both of the two fundamental health and safety conventions”.
In June, the International Labour Organization (ILO) agreed to make two health and safety conventions (155 and 187) fundamental conventions. European countries voted in favouring of doing so, but the majority of Member States have still not ratified these two conventions themselves, the ETUC adds. For example, seven Member States - Italy, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia and Malta - have not ratified either C155 or C187, and nine Member States - Germany, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Ireland and Latvia - have ratified one but not the other.
Convention 155 concerns the development of a national policy on occupational health and safety with trade unions and employer organisations. Convention 187 aims to promote the continuous improvement of health and safety at work to prevent occupational injuries, diseases and fatalities, the ETUC recalls. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)