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THE ANNUAL EUROPEAN WEEK for Safety and Health at Work is designed to focus attention on a particular problem, issue or sector with the aim of heightening awareness and pointing the way to a solution. It is no accident that this year the European Agency for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) has chosen the construction industry for October's campaign 'Building in safety'. With an annual turnover of €900 billion and more than 12 million employees it is very important to the EU economy. Unfortunately it also has one of the worst safety records.
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Nearly 850,000 construction workers suffered accidents that
entailed over 3 days loss of work in 1999, while approximately 1,300
workers are killed each year, equivalent to 13 employees out of every
100,000. This is more than twice the average of other sectors. In the
10 new Member States of the EU about 20% of all work-related accidents
are in construction. |
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for the industry. 48% of construction workers report backache (EU average: 33%), 36% claim muscular problems in the neck and shoulders (EU average: 23%) while 600,000 construction workers are exposed to asbestos each year, a potent carcinogen that causes fatal diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis. In the UK, around 750 construction and maintenance workers die from asbestos-related diseases each year. Solvents represent another hazard to which building industry employees are disproportionately exposed. During the construction of the Channel Tunnel, over a quarter of the workers were diagnosed with occupational dermatitis due to liquid-based solvents. |
Other problems include exposure to lead, for example old piping, hand-arm vibration syndrome from power tools and high noise levels. As well as the human cost of these hazards, the estimated financial loss runs into billions of euros. A UK study estimated that costs of occupational accidents and ill-health in the construction sector, including the costs of delays, absenteeism and health and insurance charges, accounted for 8.5% of project costs. Over the EU as a whole this would equate to €75 billion a year.While the campaign has been running since April and already includes a web site, online charter, information packs and good practice awards, it will culminate in the UK between October 18 and 22. Events will include special audits and risk assessments in the workplace; training; and distribution of information about the risks and solutions in the construction industry.
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The web site of the European Week for Safety and Health at Work is at: |
A PRESTIGIOUS EU HEALTH AND SAFETY conference hosted by the Netherlands, the current EU presidency, has been boycotted by Dutch trade union federations FNV and CNV. Opposed to new government legislation in a number of fields including the minimum wage, disability insurance and social security, the unions were already embarked on a campaign of opposition including strikes. However the conference topics of 'effective intervention' and 'sector dialogue' were seen as a cover for 'soft law' and 'voluntary initiatives' as part of the government's push for deregulation. Similar developments have been seen in the UK with the Health and Safety Commission's drift towards an advisory rôle and the USA's 'Voluntary Protection Program'. The CNV stated 'We are concerned about the consequences of these propositions to welfare, health and safety in our country'. The FNV was blunter 'Work longer, on worse working conditions and keep your mouth shut: that is why the FNV will not participate in this conference !'.
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