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EUROPEAN REVIEW

ISSUE 23 - Page 7

Inspectors plan euro crackdown on construction site safety

The Senior Labour Inspectors Committee (SLIC) has initiated a Europe-wide campaign with the aim of reducing accidents on construction sites. They say that over 1,300 construction workers are killed every year in the EU and that worldwide the rate of death is three times the average for other occupations.

The campaign will take the form of a mixture of promotional activities and site inspections. 99% of European firms in this sector are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). Various EU directives, given effect by national law, cover this area of health and safety and they tend to put a great emphasis on job planning. According to the campaign's web site 'Falls from heights are the most common cause of injuries and death in the construction industry. Approximately 40% of accidents in the construction industry involve falls'. Planning can minimise the risk of falls by incorporating risk assessments into the design stage.

Working at height

'Before starting construction work, the dangers of building should be considered by those who: order the construction of a building, design a building, or carry out construction work'. Once the dangers are known general protection measures should be preferred to personal ones, says the campaign. 'Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be the last resort and used only where other methods are not sufficient'. The example given is the use of a safe barrier or scaffolding rather than a ladder or safety harness. More detailed information and a leaflet is available from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA) and on their web site (see box below).

Working at height

Information on the SLIC European Construction Safety Campaign and a downloadable leaflet are available from:

http://europe.osha.eu.int/good_practice/sector/construction/slic/

USDAW takes violence campaign to Europe

The UK shop workers' trade union USDAW has carried its campaign against violence to its members forward on two fronts. The commerce section of the international union network UNI-Europe held its first conference in Stockholm recently and the British union was prominent in the debate on this subject while the UK parliament also considered the issue. Deputy General Secretary John Hannett told the European delegates 'Violence and abuse plagues our members in retail in the UK and across Europe...Too many shop workers see the abuse - and even the violence - as part of the job. It is not, it's not acceptable'. A survey of USDAW reps. revealed that half had seen violent assaults in their stores in the last year while 72% reported threats of violence as a problem and 48% had members taking time off to deal with stress caused by violence and its fear.

A union-backed film shown to conference highlighted armed robberies, kidnaps, CS gas attacks and the use of knives and iron bars by thieves. Swedish delegate Kenth Pettersson widened the debate beyond British shores with information on similar problems in his country. He identified people working alone and those working late at night as being particularly vulnerable to attacks. 27% of workers in stores open at night had been exposed to violence in the last year and 60% had encountered threats according to a recent survey in Stockholm. An inspection of 350 sales outlets in Southern Sweden

USDAW logo

meant that 20 had to be closed and staff instead supplied customers through a hatch at night because the risk of attacks was too great. Meanwhile in a UK parliamentary debate Tom Watson MP underlined the threat to workers 'Retail crime has become an occupational hazard. Violent thieves, aggressive shoppers and abusive customers are making life a misery for retail staff'. Prime Minister Tony Blair agrees 'Usdaw has properly highlighted the problem over the past few years and we certainly believe that action against retail crime is one very important part of the action against crime generally'.

USDAW's campaign logo

USDAW plan to take the campaign forward this autumn with a national respect day on September 17th. They also organised a shoppers' petition which was presented to Mr.Blair in June while more and more top retailers are signing up to their charter of respect which commits companies to 'implementing policies which safeguard the safety and dignity of staff; conveying to the public the standards of courtesy and behaviour we expect; taking measures which protect staff from violence and abuse; supporting staff who are the victims of violence and abuse in the workplace'.

Recycling: your views wanted

The European Commission has launched a consultation on its new policy for recycling and waste prevention. While all interested parties are invited to comment, the Commission makes some suggestions. It sees a rôle for itself in taking best practice in recycling among Member States and diffusing through the whole EU and foresees extending targets to areas such as office paper and newsprint. It wants to correct the situation whereby landfill is often cheaper than recycling by tax changes and 'pay as you throw' schemes.

You can comment by e-mail at:

env-waste-strategy@cec.eu.int

or by post to:

Unit A2,
DG Environment, European Commission,
B-1049 Brussels.

or by fax to:

00-32-22-96-39-80

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The campaign will take the form of a mixture of promotional activities and site inspections. 99% of European firms in this sector are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). Various EU directives, given effect by national law, cover this area of health and safety and they tend to put a great emphasis on job planning. According to the campaign's web site 'Falls from heights are the most common cause of injuries and death in the construction industry. Approximately 40% of accidents in the construction industry involve falls'. Planning can minimise the risk of falls by incorporating risk assessments into the design stage.			'Before starting construction work, the dangers of building should be considered by those who: order the construction of a building, design a building, or carry out construction work'. Once the dangers are known general protection measures should be preferred to personal ones, says the campaign. 'Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be the last resort and used only where other methods are not sufficient'. The example given is the use of a safe barrier or scaffolding rather than a ladder or safety harness. More detailed information and a leaflet is available from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA) and on their web site (see box below).
	Working at height

A union-backed film shown to conference highlighted armed robberies, kidnaps, CS gas attacks and the use of knives and iron bars by thieves. Swedish delegate Kenth Pettersson widened the debate beyond British shores with information on similar problems in his country. He identified people working alone and those working late at night as being particularly vulnerable to attacks. 27% of workers in stores open at night had been exposed to violence in the last year and 60% had encountered threats according to a recent survey in Stockholm. An inspection of 350 sales outlets in Southern Sweden		meant that 20 had to be closed and staff instead supplied customers through a hatch at night because the risk of attacks was too great. Meanwhile in a UK parliamentary debate Tom Watson MP underlined the threat to workers 'Retail crime has become an occupational hazard. Violent thieves, aggressive shoppers and abusive customers are making life a misery for retail staff'. Prime Minister Tony Blair agrees 'Usdaw has properly highlighted the problem over the past few years and we certainly believe that action against retail crime is one very important part of the action against crime generally'.
	USDAW's campaign logo

You can comment by e-mail at:	env-waste-strategy@cec.eu.int
or by post to:	Unit A2, DG Environment, European Commission, B-1049 Brussels.
or by fax to:	00-32-22-96-39-80