It may be that the cautious moves of the authorities towards reform will not be enough to contain the anger of workers and their families who have to deal with the reality of death at work. They have even gone close to securing the right of safety representatives to stop the job. This is just slightly qualified elsewhere in the agreement, the employer retaining the ability to take disciplinary action in the final analysis against representatives who exercise the right. But it seems impossible to get any closer to an absolute right for representatives to stop the job within a negotiated agreement. The purpose and amount of time off for safety duties should be determined in advance whenever possible but the employer has accepted that unforeseen issues will crop up that will require time off without prior notice.
Extensive provision is made for training where again representatives receive full pay, etc.
This is what can be achieved by a well organised trade union with a clear idea of what it wants. There are probably not so many workers in a position to obtain such conditions by negotiation these days but it shows what is possible in the right circumstances. As it will be some time before the Government gets round to legislating on safety representatives rights, there is no reason not to explore the alternative option of direct negotiation with the employer. The full text of the agreements is available from the London Hazards Centre. They argue that the WTO's mandate is to determine whether the French ban complies with multilateral trade agreements, not to rule on safety or on the principle of the safe use of asbestos.