Step forward in fighting cancer deaths

The ETUC European trade union confederation has welcomed “significant amendments” to the European carcinogens and mutagens directive as an important step in fighting work-related cancer deaths.

The European Parliament’s employment committee agreed to a long-standing ETUC demand to extend the directive to substances toxic to reproduction and include hazardous medicinal products.

The committee also supported a new methodology for setting occupational exposure limit values (OELVs) for carcinogens that will increase worker protection.

And the European Commission is required to set up an action plan by the end of the year to adopt 25 more OELVs and to publish proposals to better protect workers from exposure to “cocktails” of chemicals.

Three months after the UK-EU deal came into force, the TUC says the UK is already at “real risk” of falling behind its European counterparts on workers’ rights and challenged the government to keep pace.

The UK government has not implemented several directives which passed before the UK left the EU, including on work-life balance and transparent and predictable working conditions.

The EU is also considering improved working conditions for platform workers, a right to disconnect, and mandatory corporate due diligence, which would ensure the rights of workers along the supply chain are respected and hold employers to account.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2020/659312/EPRS_BRI(2020)659312_EN.pdf