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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(73)2029
Vol.1973/0360

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COM(73)2029final
Brussels.30November1973
DRAFT .
DECISIONOPTHECOUNCILONTHESETTINGUPOP,A
•GENERALCOMMITTEEONSAFETYATWORK/•..
_:/ DRAFT,•...»V',-. •
:....J/DECISIONOPTHECOUNCIL • .•V,
■ .•r■" . »
toconferontheMinesSafetyandHealthCommissionthei:
taskofcontinuingitspreventative actioninthefieldcf
safetyatworkinthewholerangeofextractiveindustries.
(submittedtotheCouncil "bytheCommission)
. . . ,.., ■>
M;•-*:v":
■ >.r..-V
■-3/,^
;J/
COM(73)2029final

CRSATIOITOPAGENERALSAFETYCOMMITTEE
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Everyworkerwantstobecertainthathisjobwillnotleadtoashortening
ofhislifeanddamagetohishealth.
Allenterprisesneedtomaintainproductioncapacityandconsequently
humanandtechnicalresourcesasthisisanecessaryconditionforcontinuity
andgrowth.
Theworkingpopulationisthemainspringofdevelopment everywhereinthe
Community.Therefore,itshouldbesafeguardedforhumanitarian and
economicreasons.
Nonetheless ,sincetheTreatyofRomewassigned:
–theoverallfrequencyofindustrialaccidentshasnotdiminished
decisivelyorforanylengthoftime;
–themostlaboriousandunhealthyworkisshunnedbyCommunityworkers
anddonebyanincreasing numberofforeignworkers?
–technicalprogresscontinuallycreatesproductionmethodswhich
involvedangersanddifficulties .Theseshouldbeeliminatedasquickly
aspossibleandthiscanonlybeachievedbyconsiderable effort.
Thefreemovementofgoods,workersandcapitalandtheneedtoensurethat
allCommunityenterprises havethesameobligations meansthatagreater
partofpreventative measureshavetobeundertakenatCommunitylevel.
Thispreventative actionmustbebasedonco-operation between
administrations ,technicalservicesandspecialisedbodiesintheMember
States.
Closeco-operationisnecessarybecauseacommonstandardisonlypossible-
iftechnicalstudiestodetermineefficientsupervisory methodsformaterials
andmachinesareshared.Therefore,itisnotsufficienttoprovidefor
periodiccontactsbasedonexchangesofinformation.Theremustbeabodywith
thepowerofinitiativeandsufficiently wideandcontinuousresponsibilities .

If,however,thelegislationofMemberStatesmust"be-"based,oncommon
technicalprocedures,itmusttakeintoaccountthepracticalconditions
ofindustrialworkandsocial'reality.Itmust,therefore,bebasedon
exchangesofexperienceleadingtothechoiceofthebestprofessional
practices.Theimplementation ofthischoicewillthenbetheresultof
disciplinewhichhasbeenreadilyacceptedbytheinterestedparties.
Supportfromenterprises andprofessional organisations isconsequently
irreplaceable .
TheSocialPartnershavetakeninitiativesinseveralsectorsatCommunity
levelincludingironandsteel,deepseafishingandagriculture.Workin
thesesectorshasbeendesignedtos
–assessthesafetysituationinthebranch;
–developco-operation betweenbodiesinthevarioussectorsresponsible
forsafetyandassistance ;
–selectprioritiesandonthisbasistoproceedwithexchangesof
information ;
–initiatetheappropriateaction,notablyinheretheprobleminvolvesa
specificstudyorgeneralaspectsofprevention.
Itisthereforedifficulttoconceiveofaco-ordinating bodyrestricted
tonationalactivityandunabletoprovideforliaisonwithactivityin
thevarioussectors.
ThesettingupofaJointBodypresentsparticularproblems.Itshouldin
factguarantee:
-themeansofcarryingoutpreparatorytechnicalworkinanumberof
specialisedfields(roleofthetechnicalworkingpartiesonthebasis
ofawelldefinedmandate;theco-ordinating roleofthenational
administrations onwhichthesebodiesdepend);
-thepreservation offreedomofactionfortheJointCommittees,whilst
atthesametimeofferingthemtheopportunitytoconcerttheirefforts
-a-jointframeworkfordiscussionanddecision.Thenatureandsignific
■■ofthesedecisionswillbespecifiedlater.

TheexperienceoftheMinesSafetyCommission,whichsatisfiedtheabove
criteriacanprovideamodel.ItprovesthatsuchaBodycanproduce
usefulworkifitsmandateallowsittotaketheinitiative,undertake
preparatorytechnicalworkandleadittoasuccessfulconclusion,adopt
apositionontheconclusions ofsuchworkandinformtheinterested
parties.
Thepositionsto"beadoptedbytheCommitteewillhaveeffect:
-intheMemberStates,totheextentthatthenationaladministrations'
activityisfacilitated byachievementatCommunitylevel;
–withinCommunityinstitutions ,totheextentthattheCommitteecan
contributetothepreparation ofdecisionsbecauseofitstechnical
competenceandprovideinformedopinion.

-5-
DRAFTDECISION OFTHECOUITCIL CTTTHESETTINGUPOFA
GENERALCOMMITTEE CMSAFETYATWORK
THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIES ,
HAVIITGREGARDto"theTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomicCommunity,
HAVINGREGARDtotheDraftoftheCommission ,
WHEREAStheprofoundtransformation inproductionmethodsinallsectors
oftheeconomyandthedissemination oftechniquesanddangerousmaterials
havecreatednewproblemsforthesafeguarding ofhealthandsafetyofthe
workerathisplaceofwork,
WHICREAShoalthandsafetyatworkareamongstthesocialobjectivesofthe
Treaty,establishing theEuropeanEconomicCommunity,
WH3REAStheHeadsofStateorofGovernmentinvitedtheCommunity
institutions todrawupasocialactionprogrammeprovidingforconcrete
measuresandthecorresponding resources,
WHEFJSASthissocialactionprogrammeemphasisesthatthereisaneedto
co-ordinateresponsibilities inthefieldofpreventionatCommunity
levelinordertoobtainarealimprovementinenvironmental conditions
andadistinctimprovementinsafetyinalargernumberofenterprises ,
andthatallenterprises inthememberstatesshouldhavethesame
obligations andobjectivesinrespectofhealthandsafetyatwork,
WHEREASsuchco-ordination canonlytakeplacewithintheframeworkof
astandingbodyresponsible ,inparticular,forfollowingthedevelopment
ofconditionsofsafetyandthepreventionofrisksatworkand
activitiesdirectlyconnectedwithworkandforfacilitating co-operation
betweennationaladministrations ,professional organisations andthe
enterprises concerned,
HASDECIDEDASFOLLOWS:

Article 1
1.TheGeneralCommitteeonsafetyatworkisherebyestablished
(hereinaftercalledthe'Committee'.)
2.TheCommitteeismadeupofrepresentatives oftheGovernmentsof
MemberStateswhohavedirectresponsibility forinspection,andthe
representatives ofprofessional organisations whoareparticularlyqualified
inthefieldofsafetyatworkinthevarioussectorsofeconomiclife.
Article2
TheCommitteeshallhavethetaskoffollowingthedevelopment of
conditionsofsafety,thepreventionofrisksatworkandactivities
directlyconnectedwithworkinallsectorsoftheeconomyexceptfor
extractiveindustriescomingundertheresponsibility oftheMinesSafety
andHealthCommission,andsectorsinwhichspecialregulationsare
implementedpttrsuajittotheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanAtomicEnergy
Commission.
Article3
Inordertocarryoutitstask,theCommitteeshouldaiminparticularat:
a)gatheringfromthegovernments,fromprofessionalorganisations and
fromenterprises,anyusefulInformation onthestate.ofsafetyatwork,
onthepreventative methodsusedandontheresultstheyproduce;
b)formulatingopinionswhichwillguidetheCommunityinstitutionsinthe
choiceofprioritieswithaviewtodrawingupacommonsafetypolicy;
!
c)proposingstudiesonspecificproblemswheretheimplementation of
effectivepreventative measuresdependsontheacquisitionofnew
knowledgeandtheintroduction ofappropriatetraininganddevelopment
actions; .

d)carryingoutstudies,withintheframeworkofCommunityActionprogrammes
onsafetyatworkinconjunctionwiththeMinesSafetyandHealthCommission.
Thesubjectofthesestudiesshallbeproblemsofcommoninterestespecially
regarding:
–minimumlevelofprotectionagainstthevariousrisksatwork,andthe
acceptablefeaturesofjobsandoftheworkingenvironment ;
e)theinformationofnationaladministrations ,professionalorganisations
andtheappropriateenterprises onactionsundertakenatCommunitylevel,
inordertofacilitatetheirco-operation andtofavourinitiationaimedat
exchangesofexperiences gainedandatthedefinitionofgoodpracticescodes.
TheCommitteeshallsendanAnnualreporttotheCommunityinstitutions in
which,itshallgiveareviewofitsworkandgiveopinionsonthemeasures
tobeundertaken.
Article4
TheCommitteeshallhave36members.Theseatsareallottedasfollows:
-18forgovernmentrepresentatives (2foreachMemberState)
–13forrepresentatives ofprofessionalorganisations.
Article5
ThegovernmentmembersoftheCommitteeareappointedbytheCouncilonthe
governments 1proposals,andtheothermembersontheproposalsofemployers*
andworkers*organisations setupatCommunitylevel.Thelattershallbe
selectedinsuchawayastobringabouteffectivecollaboration betweenexist–
i
ingJointCommittees,theirWorkingPartiesresponsibleforsafetyatwork,and
theCommittee.,
Article6
TheappointmentofadeputyforeachoftheCommitteemembersshallbecarried
outunderthesameconditionsasthosedefinedinArticle5*Withoutprejudice
toArticle10,thedeputyshallonlyattendCommitteemeetingsandshallonly
participateinitsworkifthememberforwhomhesubstitutescannotattend.

-8-
i '•
Article 7
ACommittee member 'sterm ofoffice shall last forthree years .Itshall
"berenewable .
Attheexpiry oftheperiod ofthree years ,theCommittee members shall
remain inoffice until areplacement isprovided ortheir term ofoffice
isrenewed .
Amember *sterm ofoffice shall endbefore theexpiry ofthree years by
resignation ,termination ofoffice in .theGovernment orintheorganization
which herepresents orbyhisdeath .Amember 'sterm ofoffice mayalso
beterminated ifthegovernment ororganization whoputhimforward asa
candidate request hisreplacement .
Heshall be .replaced for theremainder oftheterm of .office inaccordance
with theprocedure provided for inArticle 5*
Theduties which arecarried outshall notbesubject topayment .
Article 8
Thelist ofthemembers andtheir deputies shall bepublished asapoint
ofinformation bytheCouncil intheOfficial Journal oftheEuropean
Communities .
Article 9
Aspecially appointed member oftheCommission oftheEuropean Communities
shall assume thepost ofChairman oftheCommittee .Incase ofprevention ,
orinexceptional circumstances ,hemayberepresented byaCommission
official ,tobeappointed byhim.

Article 10
TheChairman may ,onhisowninitiative ,invite oneortwotechnical
advisers toparticipate inCommittee meetings .
Amember oftheCommittee mayberepresented byatechnical adviser ,
provided that heinforms theChairman ofthis atleast three days before
theCommittee meeting .
However ,thenumber oftechnical advisers assisting theCommittee members
ortheir deputies maynotexceed athird oftheMembers foranygiven
meeting .
Article 11
TheCommittee can setupworking groups presided over byamember ofthe
Committee .
They will present theresults oftheir work intheform ofareport to
ameeting oftheCommittee .
Article 12
ThoCommittee shall meet when convened bytheChairman ,either onhis
initiative orattherequest ofatleast half ofitsmembers .
Representatives from theCommission departments concerned shall
participate inthemeetings oftheCommittee anditsworking parties .

••10*•
Article 13
1.TheCommittee canonly actlegitimately iftwothirds ofitsmembers
arepresent orrepresented .
2.Opinions shall state thereasons onwhich they arebased ;they shall
bepassed byanabsolute majority ofthevalid votes .Theopinions shall
bring outorshall beaccompanied byanote which portrays theopinions
expressed bytheminority ,ifitsorequests .
.Article 14
TheCommittee shall fixitsworking methods bymeans ofaninterior
Regulation which shall enter into effect once ithasbeen approved by
the Commission .
Article 15
Without prejudice totheprovisions ofArticle 214 oftheTreaty ,itshall
beincumbent upon Committee members nottodisclose information which thoy
have obtained inthework oftheCommittee ortheworking parties ,ifthe
Commission informs thein that therequested opinion orthequestion raised
covers aconfidential subject .
Inthis event ,only theCommittee members andtherepresentatives ofthe
Commission departments shall attend the sessions .
Article 16
This Decision shall enter into force on .•..1 ....-
-Done atBrussels BytheCouncil
The President

-11-
Draft Decision ofthe Council
toconfer ontheMines Safety andHealth Commission
thetask ofcontinuing itspreventative action
inthefield ofsafety atwork inthewhole range of
extractive industries

-12-
EXPLANATORY MEHORAITOUM
1)Coal mines ,other mines andunderground andopen–cast quarries areall
high risk industrial activities .
Ithas "been shown that theoverall frequency offatal accidents is
higher inthese industries than inanyother (uptosixkilled peryear per
thousand employed persons inthelast tenyears ).Itisatpresent less in
coal mines "butparticularly high inopen-cast quarries .
Apart from fire-damp ,which isparticular tocoal mines ,thesafety'
problems are similar .They include
– indeep mines ,problems connected with subsidance andventilation and
atmosphere j
– forallmining ,problems oftransport inaconfined space ,laborious
work (heavy tools ,uncomfortable posture ,confined space )andworking
environment (dust ,lighting ,•••);
– finally ,allmining activity isfaced ,toavarying degree ,with .
problems ofblasting ,roof fall andparticular difficulties in
operating machinery .
Onthebasis ofthese observations ,theCommission hasasked the
Minos Safety andHealth Commission toexamine how itoould extend its
present jurisdiction andtostate itsattitude totheproblem .
2)TheMines Safety andHealth Commission wassetupin1957 bya
Decision oftheRepresentatives oftheMember States meeting within the
Council .In1956 avery serious accident (Marcinelle )ledtheMember States
andtheHigh Authority oftheECSC toorganize aconference onsafety ,in
themines .Inorder toensure continuity theSafety Commission wasintended
to J

-13-
–studysafetyconditionsinthemines
–work<sutappropriate measuresforcontinually improvingtheseconditions.
TheSafetyCommissionincludedajiequalnumberofgovernmentrepresen­
tativesandrepresentatives fromtheprofessional organizations connected
withminingfromeachcountry(includingthosecountrieswhohaveno
collieries).ItischairedbyamemberoftheCommissionoftheEuropean
Communities andhasasecretariatprovidedbytheCommission.Itsworkis
preparedbyarestrictedCommittee(thegovernmental membersoftheSafety
Commission).
TheSafetyCommission *smandateisextensive.Itmaystudyany
questionconcerningsafetyinspecialized workingpartiesandpropose
practicalandstatutorymeasurestothegovernments.Since1967ithas
pronounceduponaconsiderable numberoftexts.
In1965thetasksoftheSafetyCommission(whichupuntilthenwere
confinedtotechnicalsafetyproblems',wereextendedtocoverhealth
problems).
ThecompetenceoftheSafetyCommissisnislimitedtocoalminesboth
attheleveloflegislation andtheexchangeofpracticalexperience,
althoughthecompetenceof.governmentorganisations (mininginspectorates )
andprofessionalorganisations ..(forexample .Trade.Unions)represented on
theSafetyCommissionismoreextensive.•.• ;r ■..
3)TheSafetyCommissionhasexaminedhowitcouldextenditscompetence
tocoverallextractiveactivity.
•/ ,
Thisexamination showedthat:

-.14-
–thedocumentsandprovisionsalreadyadoptedcanbeappliedtoall
extractiveindustrieswithoutmajorchangesontheconditionthatthey
aretechnicallyrelevant;
–themandatesforstudiosinprogresscanheadoptedwithoutmajor
difficulty.
Consequently undertakings otherthancollierieswouldbeableto
benefitintheshort–termfromworkdonebytheSafetyCommission.Atthe
sametime,theywouldpointouttheirspecificproblemsandthiswould
greduallyincreasethescaleofactivity.
Asaresult,thetotalnumberofworkersconcernedbytheseactivities
willincreasefrom434>000to672,000(figuresfortheendof197*1which
donotincludeDenmarkandIreland).
WithintheSafetyCommissionitself,onlyaminoramountofadaptation
wouldbenecessarytotherepresentation oftheinterestedparties.In
particular,thenumberofgovernmental memberswillnotneedtobechanged
(becauseofthecompetenceofmininginspectorates).
TheSafetyCommission wasfavourabletothisproposal.
4)BytheproposedDecision,itwillbetheresponsibility oftheSafetyCommission
tostudyalltheproblemsofunderground andopen-castextractiveindustries.
Defermentisnecessaryforopen-castminingbecause,atthepresent -time,the
mininginspectorates intwoMemberStatesarenotresponsibleforallthequarries.

15
ThisDecisiondoesnotinclude:
–extractionofoilandnaturalgastwhichnormallycomeunderthe
miningauthoritiesbutwhicharesubjecttoaprovisionalreservation ;
–simpleexcavation(whosepurposeisnottomineusefulmaterialsbut
tocreateopenspacesbydigging)whichdoesnotcomeunderthemining
inspectorate .
Theonlyindustriesandundertakings coveredbythisDecisionare
miningandactivitiesdirectlyconnectedwithit(preparationforsale
andtransportofminedmaterials)butnottheindustrialprocessingofthose
materials.

-16-
THECOUNCILOP"THEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIES,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropean
EconomicCommunity ;
HavingregardtothedraftsubmittedbytheCommission,
WhereastheRepresentatives oftheGovernmentsoftheMemberStatesmeeting
withinthespecialCouncilofMinistershave,bythedecisionsof
6September195&andof9and.10May.1957#setupaMinesSafetyandHealth
Commission,whosemandate,lastamendedbythedecisionof11March19&5|
shallbetofollowthedevelopmentofsafetyconditions,thepreventionof
risks,andtheworkingenvironmentwhichthreatenthehealthofworkers
incoalmines,andtodrawupproposalsdesignedtoimprovetheseconditions;
Whereas,asaresultofthereportsontheannualactivitiesofthesafety
Commission,this,bodyhasproved ,tobean.effectiveinstrumentand
appropriateforsafeguarding thehealthandsafetyofworkersincoalmines;
Whereas,problemsofsafetysimilartothoseincoalminesalsoexistin
undergroundextractiveactivitiesandthosecarriedoutonanopencast
basis;andwhereasitisnecesssarytocarryoutaneffectivepreventative
actioninminesotherthancoalmines;
WhereassafetyatworkisapartofthesocialobjectivesoftheEECTreaty,
andwhereasitisdesirabletotakeadvantageoftheexperiencegained
withinthesafetyCommissionandentrustitwiththetaskofextendingthe
preventativeactionwhich,upuntilnow,hasbeenconfinedtocoalmines
atCommunitylevel,toallotherextractiveindustries ;
Hisdecidedasfollows:
Article 1
1Preventativeactionagainstrisksintheworkingenvironment,which
threatenthehealthofworkersinallextractiveindustries,withthe
exceptionoftheextractionofoilandnaturalgasaswellassimple
excavationwork,shallbeincludedinthemandateoftheMinesSafety
andHealthCommission,definedbythedecisionoftherepresentatives
oftheGovernmentsoftheMemberStatesmeetingwithinthespecial
CouncilofMinistersof11March1965.

2Extractiveindustriesincludeextractiveactivitiesinthetrue
senseandalsothepreparation ofextractedmaterialsforsaleand
transport,butnottheprocessingofthesematerials.
Article2
TheMemberStatesshall,notlaterthanthreemonthsaftertheapplication
oftheprovisionsofthisDecision,takethemeasuresnecessarytoadapt
theirrepresentation intheSafetyCommission,inordertoallowforits
newtasks.
Article3
ThisDeoisioncomesintoforceon1April1974*Fromthisdateitwill
applyinrespectof.undergroundextractiveactivitiesandfrom
1January1976toallextractive ,industriesasdefinedinArticledofthis
Decision..:
-DoneatBrussels BytheCouncil
ThePresident -