Health and safety gets a boost


The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has welcomed a new document on health and safety, adopted by the Council of the EU which brings together ministers from national governments.


The ministers last month agreed that the shift to “new contractual arrangements and atypical forms of employment” — in other words greater use of agency, temporary and self-employed workers — may have an “impact on workers well-being, including … their physical and mental health”. They also accepted that “new forms of work and changing work patterns may give rise to new risks”. 


Ministers agreed that new forms of work should not “reduce or detract from the employer’s responsibility to ensure the occupational safety and health of workers”.


Per Hilmersson, the new deputy general secretary of the ETUC, welcomed the fact that the ministers had explicitly recognised the risks posed by new forms of work organisation and had emphasised the obligation on employers to protect workers’ health and safety. He said: “These conclusions are positive and constructive.” 


The adoption of this document does not directly lead to further action. However, the document calls on the European Commission, the EU’s civil service, to “continue modernising occupational safety and health policies”, making it more likely the new Commission, which will be in place in the autumn, will come forward with new policy proposals.


https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9686-2019-INIT/en/pdf