A variety of European employer bodies, worker organisations and companies have come together to raise awareness of the importance of reducing work-related accidents and ill health in a new campaign organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).
Nine pan-European and multinational organisations have signed up to be part of the first wave of official partners of the Healthy Workplaces campaign, which focuses on evaluating work-related health and safety risks. According to EUROSTAT figures, 5720 people a year die in work-related incidents in the EU — one every three and a half minutes.
Among the organisations participating are the European Safety Federation (ESF), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), General Business Europe, and Johnson and Johnson.
EU-OSHA director, Jukka Takala expressed the Agency’s delight at the commitment of so many high-level organisations, saying: “Risk assessment is the key to preventing accidents and ill health at work. It is a legal obligation throughout Europe, but there are still companies that do not assess their risks regularly. This is reflected in figures of accidents and diseases at work, which show that improvements are still needed, especially in SMEs.
“Partnerships with these nine organisations allow us to further increase the impact of our Healthy Workplaces campaign, already now one of the world’s largest information campaigns on occupational safety and health.”
Added Brian Boyd, worldwide vice-president of EH&S for Johnson and Johnson: “Health and safety has always been a part of Johnson and Johnson’s credo — we want to have the safest and healthiest workforce we can. That’s just not possible without a deep understanding of our risks and a strong framework for risk assessment and corrective action.”
Henk Vanhoutte, secretary general of the ESF, commented: “Performing serious and continuous risk assessment is the only way to make the workplace safer. It is the basis for any OHS management and action plan, in general, and for correct selection and use of PPE, in particular. This is common sense, not just a legal obligation.”
The official partners will promote the Healthy Workplaces campaign through their information channels, disseminate campaign material to their networks, and organise their own activities such as conferences, workshops, training sessions, media events, and poster competitions.
To find out more about the Healthy Workplaces campaign, click here
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