19
FIEC
policy. The EU OSH Strategy
therefore invited the social
partners to develop initiatives in
the context of the sectoral social
dialogue.
In this respect, among the
various initiatives undertaken by
FIEC and the EFBWW (European
Federation of Building & Wood
Workers), the EU sectoral social
partners for the construction
industry, were a study on nano-
materials and nano-products in
the construction industry, with a
specific focus on their implication
on OSH.
There was also a guide,
focusing
in
particular
on
SMEs, aimed at encouraging
and helping companies to
introduce and develop, in close
collaboration with the workers
and/or their representatives, a
more systematic and coherent
approach to OSH.
Another initiative was called
InformationModulesonAsbestos,
which will help employers and
workers understand possible risk
situations related to asbestos.
EVIDENCE
The evidence gathered in the
report shows that the EU OSH
Strategy has been highly relevant,
in particular in providing a firm
policy basis for action, and in
facilitating the co-ordination of
the actions taken by the many
stakeholders involved.
On the basis of this report, a
public consultation has been
launched with the aim, among
other things, of elaborating a
possible new EU Strategy for the
period 2013 to 2020.
Despite
the
overall
improvements observed over
the years, a lot still remains to
be done, and improving health
and safety in the workplace will
continue to be an important field
of action for the construction
sector – and therefore one of
FIEC’s main priorities.
ce
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
SEPTEMBER 2013
The health and safety
target challenges
FIEC
Avenue Louise 225,
B - 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
Tel: +32 2 514 55 35;
e-mail:
FIEC reports that there has been some success as a result of the EU’s
strategy on health and safety at work, but there is still more to do
I
n
2007,
the
European
Commission
adopted
a
Communication
entitled
“Improving
quality
and
productivity at work: Community
strategy 2007 to 2012 on health
and safety at work” – the EU OSH
(Occupational Safety and Health)
Strategy.
The aim of this Communication
was, on the one hand, to
underline the major contribution
that investing in a high-quality
work environment can make to
fostering economic growth and
boosting productivity and, on
the other hand, to draw attention
to the high costs of work-
related accidents and diseases
for businesses, social security
systems and public finances.
This EU OSH Strategy expired
at the end of 2012, and the
European Commission presented
an evaluation report and
launched a public consultation
in order to set the basis for a
possible new EU OSH Strategy.
The main objective of the EU
OSH Strategy 2007 to 2012 was
“an ongoing, sustainable and
uniform reduction in accidents at
work and occupational diseases”,
and in this context, an ambitious
goal was set for all member
states to achieve – an overall 25%
reduction in the total incidence
of accidents at work by 2012.
As a result of the lack of up-to-
date statistical data in the report,
underlines
the
difficulties
that SMEs (small and medium
size enterprises) are facing,
in particular when it comes
to implementing the OSH
legislation. The lack of structures,
knowledge
and
resources
to manage their working
environment properly, including
opportunities to use external
expertise, are among the reasons
explaining these difficulties. And
it also, therefore, highlights the
need for simplifying the OSH
regulatory framework.
If themain legislative framework
is elaborated at the EU level, its
practical application nevertheless
takes place at the national level.
The EU OSH Strategy, therefore,
called on member states to adopt
coherent national strategies,
including quantitative objectives,
for reducing the incidence of
occupational accidents and
diseases.
The report underlined that
nowadays this was a reality in
26 out of 27 member states,
although only a minority (seven
of them) adopted the overall
objective of a 25% reduction.
One of the topics on which
only very little progress has been
achieved is the comparability
of
data
across
member
states. Furthermore, there is
a considerable time gap in the
provision of data on accidents
across the EU and this creates
some difficulties when using data
to evaluate and revise policies in
the short to medium term.
There is, therefore, considerable
scope for further improvements
in this area, in particular
by eliminating the existing
methodological differences.
Finally, the report of the
European Commission highlights
the important role that the
social partners, both at EU and
at national level, can play in
designing and implementing
occupational safety and health
it has not been possible to
establish with accuracy whether
the 25% target was effectively
reached in 2012. However,
the latest Eurostat estimates
indicate a 26.8% reduction in the
incidence of non-fatal accidents
at work in the EU-15 (the member
states prior toMay 2004) between
2007 and 2010.
Improvements have been
observed, but further efforts are
also needed, in particular because
the report highlights differences
between member states.
The EU regulatory framework
on health and safety aims
at establishing a consistent
minimum level of protection
for all European workers, and it
identified three main areas of
action.
LEGISLATION
The first is the strengthening of
the implementation of EU OSH
legislation, while the second
concerns the monitoring the
application of OSH legislation.
The third is simplifying the
legislative
framework
and
adapting it to change.
For the implementation of EU
legislation, it can be said that,
despite a small number of
infringement procedures that are
still on-going, it has been almost
entirely transposed into national
legislation.
Non-binding guides, intended
primarily for helping employers,
have also been produced by the
Commission. For our industry,
for example, a guide on the
implementation of theTemporary
or Mobile Worksites Directive
(92/57/EC) has been elaborated.
Supporting the implementation
of EU OSH legislation also
means making sure that these
requirements
are
correctly
applied and enforced in practice,
in order to reach the desired level
of protection.
In this respect, the report
