Brussels, 26/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - Consulted at first reading, in codecision procedure, the European Parliament strengthened the proposal aimed at amending the 1989 directive on the minimum provisions for health and safety at work when workers use work equipment, to include minimum provisions for off the ground working positions, mainly when using ladders and scaffolding. Rapporteur, British Labour member Peter Skinner, vigorously appealed in favour of this category of workers exposed to specific risks. He backed his argument with highly eloquent figures (the Daily Mail was ironical about this directive). Ten percent of all work accidents are due to "falls from heights" and one victim out of ten dies or remains disabled for life. Each year, there are 500,000 accidents of this kind within the EU, including 40,000 with serious consequences and 1000 which are fatal. Most of these accidents are due to shortcomings in the use of scaffolding and ladders, said Mr Skinner in plenary, noting that, in the United Kingdom, the body charged with health and safety at work felt that some 30% of prohibitions were on unsafe scaffolding.
German Christian Democrat Winfried Menrad, notably, was warm in his support. Prevention, he said, is "better, and less costly, and more humane". Action must be taken "before the child falls in the pit". On the other hand, Philip Bushill-Matthews announced that the British Conservatives (within the EPP Group) were opposed to the directive: not because the questions of safety at work are not important, but because we wonder whether the Parliament must spend time on such things, when there are other priorities. Applauded by a large part of the Chamber, British Labour member Stephen Hughes replied (also to British Conservative Theresa Villiers), saying that this directive is not something "trivial" - you only have to ask the families of the thousands of victims of this kind of accident. The directive is clear, readable, it is not excessively bureaucratic, he said. The opinion expressed by ÖVP elected member Ursula Stenzel, of the EPP Group, was slightly more mitigated than that of the British Conservatives. She said she did not reject the Skinner report but added: public opinion, which will see this directive as the "ladder directive", will wonder whether the Parliament has better things to do than deal with things that are so "obvious".
The directive is a very good response to our voters, as it shows that the European Union is doing very concrete things for them, said Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou, speaking to Mr Bushill-Matthews. This is a serious problem that is costly for the society and in terms of suffering for the victims. She also announced that the Commission has begun to prepare a communication on the future strategies concerning health and safety at work. "Within this Parliament", she said, "there are so many ideas that I am sure you will contribute to this reflection".
The amendments adopted by the Parliament (that Ms Diamantopoulou partly accepted) aim above all at enlarging the scope of the directive to cover independent workers and their employers, and to strengthen certain measures for the use of ladders, scaffolding safety and signalling.