The contribution of a united Europe to the development of a holistic culture of work-related accident and disease prevention was underlined to delegates at the opening session of the IOSH Conference 2013 today (26 February).
European Commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion Laszlo Andor told a packed hall at London’s ExCel that “social dialogue offers a sound basis for decision-making on health and safety” such that we now have “a shared culture of prevention, development and a major body of legislation in place”.
Pointing out that accidents are now at a historically low level across the EU the commissioner nevertheless acknowledged that the situation is far from satisfactory. He said: “In 2010 across the 27 member states, the accident rates were 4400 fatalities and 3.3 million non-fatal incidents. According to Eurostat figures from 2007, 23 million workers aged between 15 and 64 reported a work-related health problem – that is one in 10 of the European workforce.
“There were 367 million calendar days of sickness absence, which equates to between 2.6 and 3.8 per cent of European GDP.”
The commissioner asked delegates: “Should we accept such high costs? No! Can we improve the situation? Yes!”
He referred to the problem unique to the UK of “scepticism towards health and safety efforts” and myth-mongering, listing the main “myths” perpetrated around the subject as: health and safety management is too expensive; the EU over-regulates; the admin burden imposed on small businesses is too heavy and is an obstacle to competitiveness.
Commissioner Andor emphasised: “The evidence is clear: a systematic approach to well-planned health and safety measures results in significant cost savings for businesses. OSH measures also help improve a company’s image, its position in the labour market, customer satisfaction, productivity, and reduces staff turnover.”
He went on to quote ILO research, which suggests that countries where work conditions are safest also enjoy the best business performance – “so there is a strong correlation between strong safety and high competitiveness”.
Outlining next steps at EU level for health and safety the commissioner said it was currently evaluating the impact of its 2007-2012 strategy. Although the final results will not be available until next month, he revealed that early indications are that the strategy has worked.
He explained: “So far, figures show that accident rates continue to fall, so setting quantitative targets has worked and raised awareness of the importance of accident prevention.”
Once the final evaluation has been published, the European Commission will launch a three-month consultation on what its future priorities should be, and the commissioner urged all stakeholders to participate in this important exercise.
He explained that the Commission is currently considering such topics as prevention of occupational disease and musculoskeletal disorders, psychosocial risks, and risks linked to emerging new technology.
Commissioner Andor concluded: “Europe needs to continue to improve working conditions, reflecting the broader economic, employment and geographical environments. Investing in OSH pays even – and especially – during times of economic crisis, because it helps competitiveness and fosters inclusive growth.”
The video below shows part of Laszlo Andor’s speech.
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