Workshop Health and safety at work

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WorkshopHealth and safety at work

• lessons learned ideas for the future

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Health and safety

• Easily most crucial part of the EU legislative
  acquis for both workers and the companies
• Moral, legal and economic reasons for compliance.
• Moral because no one want another persons to get
  hurt. OHS is an integral preconditional
  requirement for CSR
• It is the law with non respect leading to fines
  and even closures. Failing to invest in OHS is
  risking your business
• Economically accidents and occupational illness
  cost to the company in downtime and direct cost
  because of absence and indirectly to the society
  through taxes. Better respect of OHS regulations
  also improves the quality

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PROBLEMS NOTED

• Effective enforcement is essential to achieve a
  level playing field and is currently lacking
• SMEs are particularly lacking in voluntarism and
  support
• PPE may not be used, that is one of the reasons
  why it is a last resort. Motivation of workers is
  a problem
• Safety of old machinery or use of safety
  provisions of new machinery is problem
• Measurement of exposure is difficult and often
  lacking
• Financing for OHS can be difficult to obtain as
  it concerns non productive investments
• Different national exposure limits lower than EU
  regulations
• Risk assements generally insufficiently done
• Materials for training exist but need to be
  dissiminated

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SUGGESTIONS

• Recommend EU levels in accession negotions
• Motivation matter for workers and employers,
  involvment of the trade unions helpful
• Participation of companies in BRO helps to
  obtain support material
• Information dissimination is real need for micro
  businesses as is specific sectoral approach for
  specific regulations
• Training for labour inspectors
• Specific subsidy and finance models for OHS are
  necessary
• Financial incentives through social security
  systems for PPE