European Review Issue 34 page 5

Graham Petersen is the co-ordinator of the Trade Union Studies department at South Thames College and the secretary of South London Action on Safety and Health (SLASH). Here he reviews ‘Finding your way in the European Union Health and Safety Policy - a trade union guide’.

This is a useful guide for trade unionists who want to understand the way the European Union works on health and safety. There was a time in the early 1990s when the EU appeared as a radical force for good in the way that it shook up legal standards in the UK. The regulations that came on stream in 1993 laid down requirements that previously hadn’t existed, like the Display Screen Equipment Regulations, or, in the case of the Management Regulations, provided a more precise duty on safety management systems.
All that has changed, and the enthusiasm with which some trade unionists embraced the EU has now been tempered. That of course doesn’t mean that we do not need to understand how Europe works and the direction it may be going in. The guide not only helps us to put these developments in an historical context but also points the way to what trade unions need to do to try and get it back on track.
The first part examines how the EU works and the machinery that exists for the trade union movement to influence the decision making process..
A strong feature of the guide is that it is not just a bland description of EU institutions but has a clear analysis of the trade union approach to health and safety. With the attacks on the regulatory system and the deregulation drive this has never been more important. The guide makes it clear that the precedence of preventive measures contained in the Framework Directive refer to elimination of risks at source wherever possible. This is sensible safety management but it has been turned by the opponents of strong regulation into some wacky concept known as ‘risk aversion’.

Culprits

The second part of the guide analyses the fundamental principles of the law and a trade union European strategy. The community strategy for 2002-2006 is critically evaluated and it is made clear who some of the main culprits were: ‘No sooner had the 2002-2006 programme been adopted than an unholy alliance took shape between Mr Blair, Mr Berlusconi and Mr Aznar to kill off any ambitious new legislation on social/employment rights’.
Some more detail on the deregulation drive would have been useful. There is no reference to the Services Directive and its potential for undermining health and safety standards.
The guide’s definition of ‘participation’ is very precise: ’It would be nonsensical to see participation as meaning an end to contention. Participation involves the right to organise (in trade unions) and the freedom to take collective action in the various ways that characterise action by organised labour (right of assembly, right to strike etc)’.
The next step is to ensure that the community strategy being drawn up for 2007-2012 is more effective than its predecessor. The guide provides an outline of some trade union priorities but it is crucial that 2006 is used by trade unions and the Hazards campaign as an opportunity to flesh out the demands and the tactics. As the European TUC says:
‘Trade unions can forge alliances with environmental groups, public health lobbies and, more generally, everyone who believes that human beings, nature and the world are not just to be bought and sold’.

The guide is published by European Trade Union Institute for Research, Education and Health and Safety (ETUI-REHS) and is available from them at:

Bd du Roi Albert II, 5 bte 5,
B-1210 Brussels,
BELGIUM
Tel. + 32 2 224 05 60 -
Fax. + 32 2 224 05 61
E-mail: hesa@etui-rehs.org

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