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COUNCIL RESOLUTION

OF 27 FEBRUARY 1984

ON A SECOND PROGRAMME OF ACTION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK

( 84/C 67/02 )

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,

HAVING REGARD TO THE TREATIES ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,

HAVING REGARD TO THE DRAFT RESOLUTION SUBMITTED BY THE COMMISSION ( 1 ) ,

HAVING REGARD TO THE OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ( 2 ) ,

HAVING REGARD TO THE OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE ( 3 ) ,

WHEREAS THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION OF 21 JANUARY 1974 CONCERNING A SOCIAL ACTION PROGRAMME ( 4 ) PROVIDES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ACTION PROGRAMME ON SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK ;

WHEREAS , UNDER ARTICLE 2 OF THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY , THE COMMUNITY SHALL HAVE IN PARTICULAR AS ITS TASK , BY ESTABLISHING A COMMON MARKET AND PROGRESSIVELY APPROXIMATING THE ECONOMIC POLICIES OF MEMBER STATES , THAT OF PROMOTING THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY A HARMONIOUS DEVELOPING OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES , A CONTINUOUS AND BALANCED EXPANSION AND AN ACCELERATED RAISING OF THE STANDARD OF LIVING ;

WHEREAS , AT THE CONFERENCE HELD IN PARIS IN OCTOBER 1972 , THE HEADS OF STATE OR OF GOVERNMENT AFFIRMED THAT THE FIRST AIM OF ECONOMIC EXPANSION , WHICH IS NOT AN END IN ITSELF , SHOULD BE TO ENABLE DISPARITIES IN LIVING CONDITIONS TO BE REDUCED AND THAT IT SHOULD RESULT IN AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE QUALITY OF LIFE AS WELL AS IN STANDARDS OF LIVING ;

WHEREAS , MOREOVER , UNDER ARTICLE 117 OF THE SAID TREATY THE MEMBER STATES AGREED UPON THE NEED TO PROMOTE IMPROVED WORKING CONDITIONS AND AN IMPROVED STANDARD OF LIVING FOR WORKERS , SO AS TO MAKE POSSIBLE THEIR HARMONIZATION WHILE THE IMPROVEMENT WAS BEING MAINTAINED ;

WHEREAS PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS AT WORK AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES AND ALSO OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE FALL WITHIN THE FIELDS AND OBJECTIVES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 118 OF THE SAID TREATY ; WHEREAS IN THIS CONTEXT COLLABORATION SHOULD BE STRENGTHENED BETWEEN THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION AND BETWEEN THE MEMBER STATES THEMSELVES ;

WHEREAS SUITABLE HEALTH PROTECTION FOR THE PUBLIC AND EFFECTIVE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS AT WORK AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES WOULD BE IN CONFORMITY WITH THESE GENERAL OBJECTIVES ;

WHEREAS , IN SPITE OF SUSTAINED EFFORTS , THE CONTINUING HIGH LEVEL OF ACCIDENTS AT WORK AND OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES REMAINS A SERIOUS PROBLEM ;

WHEREAS EFFORTS MADE IN THE FIELD OF ACCIDENT PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROTECTION AT THE WORK PLACE HAVE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS WHICH ARE REFLECTED IN THE ECONOMIC SPHERE AND IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ;

WHEREAS A CONSIDERABLE EFFORT IS NEEDED AT COMMUNITY LEVEL TO SEARCH FOR AND IMPLEMENT SUITABLE MEANS FOR MAINTAINING OR CREATING A WORKING ENVIRONMENT TAILORED TO THE NEEDS OF MAN AND HIS LEGITIMATE ASPIRATIONS ;

WHEREAS BOTH THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MEASURES AND THE COST OF IMPLEMENTING THEM SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN THE CHOICE OF ACTION TO BE UNDERTAKEN AT COMMUNITY LEVEL AND OF THE MEASURES TO BE TAKEN TO IMPLEMENT IT ;

WHEREAS THE IMPROVEMENT OF WORKING CONDITIONS AND THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT MUST BE ENVISAGED IN OVERALL TERMS AND MUST CONCERN ALL SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY ;

WHEREAS IT IS ALSO ESSENTIAL TO ENCOURAGE THE INCREASING PARTICIPATION OF MANAGEMENT AND LABOUR , AT ALL LEVELS AND PARTICULARLY AT THE LEVEL OF THE UNDERTAKING , IN DECISIONS AND INITIATIVES IN THE FIELD OF SAFETY , HYGIENE AND HEALTH PROTECTION AT WORK ;

WHEREAS THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON SAFETY , HYGIENE AND HEALTH PROTECTION AT WORK , SET UP BY DECISION 74/325/EEC ( 5 ) , MUST BE CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS WORK ;

WHEREAS THE EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS AND THE EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING MAY HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAMME ;

WHEREAS , IN IMPLEMENTING THE ACTIONS , ACCOUNT MUST BE TAKEN OF WORK UNDERTAKEN IN OTHER FIELDS , ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION OF 17 DECEMBER 1973 ON INDUSTRIAL POLICY ( 6 ) AND OF THE DECLARATION OF 22 NOVEMBER 1973 ( 7 ) AND RESOLUTIONS OF 17 MAY 1977 ( 8 ) AND OF 7 FEBRUARY 1983 ( 9 ) OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES , MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL , CONCERNING A EUROPEAN COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAMME ON THE ENVIRONMENT , IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE CLOSEST POSSIBLE COORDINATION OF ACTIONS AND PROPOSALS ;

WHEREAS , IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT THE ACTIONS SUCCESSFULLY , IT IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THAT CONCEPTS , TERMINOLOGY AND METHODS OF IDENTIFICATION , MEASUREMENT AND ASSESSMENT RELATING TO SAFETY AND HEALTH RISKS ARE HARMONIZED ; WHEREAS SUCH A TASK IS OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF THESE ACTIONS ;

NOTES THAT THIS SECOND ACTION PROGRAMME TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE FIRST ACTION PROGRAMME ANNEXED TO THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION OF 29 JUNE 1978 ON AN ACTION PROGRAMME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK ( 10 ) ;

EXPRESSES THE POLITICAL WILL TO TAKE , IN KEEPING WITH THE URGENCY OF THE MATTER AND BEARING IN MIND WHAT IS FEASIBLE AT NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY LEVEL , THE MEASURES REQUIRED SO THAT BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF 1988 THE FOLLOWING PRIORITY ACTIONS IN PARTICULAR CAN BE UNDERTAKEN ;

I . PROTECTION AGAINST DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES

1 . CONTINUE WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY PROVISIONS BASED ON COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 80/1107/EEC OF 27 NOVEMBER 1980 ON THE PROTECTION OF WORKERS FROM THE RISKS RELATED TO EXPOSURE TO CHEMICAL , PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL AGENTS AT WORK ( 11 ) .

2 . ESTABLISH COMMON METHODOLOGIES FOR THE ASSESSEMENT OF THE HEALTH RISKS OF PHYSICAL , CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL AGENTS PRESENT AT THE WORK PLACE .

3 . DEVELOP A STANDARD APPROACH FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF EXPOSURE LIMITS FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES BY APPLYING THE METHODOLOGIES REFERRED TO IN POINT 2 . MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE HARMONIZATION OF EXPOSURE LIMITS FOR A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SUBSTANCES , TAKING INTO ACCOUNT EXISTING EXPOSURE LIMITS .

4 . ESTABLISH FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES STANDARD METHODS FOR MEASURING AND EVALUATING WORK PLACE AIR CONCENTRATIONS AND BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF THE WORKERS INVOLVED , TOGETHER WITH QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAMMES FOR THEIR USE .

5 . DEVELOP PREVENTIVE AND PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR SUBSTANCES RECOGNIZED AS BEING CARCINOGENIC AND OTHER DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES AND PROCESSES WHICH MAY HAVE SERIOUS HARMFUL EFFECTS ON HEALTH .

6 . ESTABLISH COMMUNITY RULES FOR LIMITING EXPOSURE TO NOISE AND CONTINUE WORK ON DEVELOPING A BASIS FOR COMMUNITY MEASURES ON VIBRATIONS AND NONIONIZING RADIATION .

II . ERGONOMIC MEASURES , PROTECTION AGAINST ACCIDENTS AND DANGEROUS SITUATIONS

7 . WORK OUT SAFETY PROPOSALS , PARTICULARLY FOR CERTAIN HIGH-RISK ACTIVITIES , INCLUDING PROPOSALS ON SPECIFIC MEASURES FOR THE PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVING FALLS , MANUAL LIFTING , HANDLING AND DANGEROUS MACHINERY .

8 . EXAMINE THE MAJOR-ACCIDENT HAZARDS OF CERTAIN INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES COVERED BY DIRECTIVE 82/501/EEC ( 12 ) .

9 . WORK OUT ERGONOMIC MEASURES AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION PRINCIPLES WITH THE AIM OF DETERMINING THE LIMITS OF THE CONSTRAINTS IMPOSED ON VARIOUS GROUPS OF THE WORKING POPULATION BY THE DESIGN OF EQUIPMENT , THE TASKS REQUIRED AND THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT SO THAT THEY ARE NOT PREJUDICIAL TO THEIR HEALTH AND SAFETY .

10 . WORK OUT PROPOSALS ON LIGHTING AT THE WORK PLACE .

11 . ORGANIZE EXCHANGES OF EXPERIENCE WITH A VIEW TO ESTABLISHING MORE CLEARLY THE PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF ORGANIZATION AND TRAINING OF THE DEPARTMENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR INSPECTION IN THE FIELDS OF SAFETY , HEALTH AND HYGIENE AT WORK .

III . ORGANIZATION

12 . MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND ADVISORY ROLE OF THE DEPARTMENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR DEALING WITH HEALTH AND SAFETY PROBLEMS IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED UNDERTAKINGS , BY DEFINING , IN PARTICULAR , THE ROLE OF SPECIALISTS IN OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE , HYGIENE AND SAFETY .

13 . DRAW UP THE PRINCIPLES AND CRITERIA FOR MONITORING WORKERS WHOSE HEALTH AND SAFETY ARE LIKELY TO BE SERIOUSLY AT RISK , SUCH AS CERTAIN MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR WORKERS , CERTAIN MIGRANT WORKERS AND CERTAIN WORKERS IN SUBCONTRACTING UNDERTAKINGS .

14 . DRAW UP THE PRINCIPLES FOR PARTICIPATION BY WORKERS AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVES IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES AT THE WORK PLACE .

IV . TRAINING AND INFORMATION

15 . ENSURE THAT EMPLOYERS AND WORKERS WHO ARE LIABLE TO BE EXPOSED TO CHEMICALS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES AT THEIR WORK PLACE HAVE ADEQUATE INFORMATION ON THOSE SUBSTANCES .

PREPARE INFORMATION NOTICES AND MANUALS ON THE HANDLING OF CERTAIN DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES , PARTICULARLY THOSE COVERED BY COMMUNITY DIRECTIVES . IF NEED BE , AND TAKING ACCOUNT OF EXISTING COMMUNITY REGULATIONS ON THE MATTER , DRAW UP PROPOSALS ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEMS AND CODES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES AT THE WORK PLACE .

16 . ( A ) DRAW UP PROGRAMMES AIMED AT BETTER TRAINING AS REGARDS OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS AND MEASURES FOR THE SAFETY OF THOSE AT WORK ( SAFETY TRAINING ) AND

( B ) TRAINING SCHEMES INTENDED FOR SPECIFIC GROUPS :

- YOUNG WORKERS ,

- GROUPS WHO HAVE SPECIAL NEED OF UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION , I.E . WORKERS DOING A JOB TO WHICH THEY ARE NOT ACCUSTOMED OR WHO HAVE DIFFICULTY IN ACQUIRING INFORMATION THROUGH THE USUAL CHANNELS , OR TO WHOM IT IS DIFFICULT TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION ,

- WORKERS IN KEY POSITIONS , I.E . PEOPLE WHO LAY DOWN WORKING CONDITIONS , COMMUNICATE INFORMATION , ETC .

V . STATISTICS

17 . ESTABLISH COMPARABLE DATA ON MORTALITY AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES AND COLLECT DATA FROM EXISTING SOURCES ON THE FREQUENCY , GRAVITY AND CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS AT WORK AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES , INCLUDING , AS FAR AS POSSIBLE , DATA ON VULNERABLE GROUPS OF WORKERS AND ABSENTEEISM DUE TO ILLNESS .

18 . COMPILE AN INVENTORY OF EXISTING CANCER REGISTERS AT LOCAL , REGIONAL AND NATIONAL LEVEL IN ORDER TO ASSESS THE COMPARABILITY OF THE DATA CONTAINED IN THEM AND TO ENSURE BETTER COORDINATION AT COMMUNITY LEVEL .

VI . RESEARCH

19 . IDENTIFY AND COORDINATE TOPICS FOR APPLIED RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK WHICH CAN BE THE SUBJECT OF FUTURE COMMUNITY ACTION .

VII . COOPERATION

20 . WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EXISTING PROCEDURES , CONTINUE TO COOPERATE WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE AND WITH NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTES OUTSIDE THE COMMUNITY .

21 . CONTINUE TO COOPERATE ON OTHER ACTION BY THE COMMUNITY AND BY MEMBER STATES , WHERE IT PROVES WORTHWHILE ;

REQUESTS THE COMMISSION TO PREPARE ANNUALLY , AFTER CONSULTING THE MEMBER STATES , A FORWARD OUTLINE OF THE WORK IT INTENDS TO CARRY OUT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS RESOLUTION .

( 1 ) OJ NO C 308 , 25 . 11 . 1982 , P . 11 .

( 2 ) OJ NO C 57 , 29 . 2 . 1984 .

( 3 ) OJ NO C 176 , 4 . 8 . 1983 , P . 16 .

( 4 ) OJ NO C 13 , 12 . 2 . 1974 , P . 1 .

( 5 ) OJ NO L 185 , 9 . 7 . 1974 , P . 15 .

( 6 ) OJ NO C 117 , 31 . 12 . 1973 , P . 1 .

( 7 ) OJ NO C 112 , 20 . 12 . 1973 , P . 1 .

( 8 ) OJ NO C 139 , 13 . 6 . 1977 , P . 1 .

( 9 ) OJ NO C 46 , 17 . 2 . 1983 , P . 1 .

( 10 ) OJ NO C 165 , 11 . 7 . 1978 , P . 1 .

( 11 ) OJ NO L 327 , 3 . 12 . 1980 , P . 8 .

( 12 ) OJ NO L 230 , 5 . 8 . 1982 , P . 1 .