WRITTEN QUESTION E-0467/00

by Luis Berenguer Fuster (PSE) to the Commission

(24 February 2000)

Subject: Shortcomings in the transposition of Community legislation on health and safety at work into Spanish law

Spain has adopted a number of provisions to transpose the Community laws aimed at guaranteeing minimum levels of safety protection for workers into domestic law. These Community laws are Framework Directive 89/391/EEC(1) and two individual directives ensuing from it Directive 92/104/EEC(2) on the minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers in surface and underground mineral-extracting industries, and Directive 92/57/EEC(3) on the minimum safety and health requirements for workers at construction sites.

Spanish legislation on certain civil engineering projects, such as tunnels, does not conform to the provisions of Directive 92/57/EEC, since in Spain such sites are also covered by the inspection of safeguards established for mining and other extractive industries, in accordance with Royal Decree 1389/97. Spanish Law 42/97 of 14 November 1997 stipulates that the labour and social security inspectorate is not competent to deal with health and safety issues for any form of underground activity, regardless of whether or not it involves mining.

The Commission has already received complaints from trade unions and professional organisations to the effect that, rather than improving security levels as Community legislation requires, the irregular extension of measures and monitoring for the mining sector to civil engineering projects involving the construction of underground tunnels places workers at risk. The risks involved stem from the enforcement of safety and

technical standards not intended for construction projects and the possibility that standards and instructions may contradict one another. With such legislation in force, Spain cannot hope to attain the required safety levels laid down in Directive 92/57/EEC.

1. Has the Commission looked into the shortcomings in the transposition of Directive 92/57/EEC into Spanish law, which have resulted in the failure to conduct health and safety checks for underground activities not involving mining and thus undermined the implementation of the Directive?

2. What measures does the Commission intend to adopt to ensure the proper transposition of Directive 92/57/EEC in Spain with regard to underground civil engineering projects?

(1) OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 404, 31.12.1992, p. 10.

(3) OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 6.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(3 April 2000)

The Commission has analysed the Spanish measures for the implementation of Directive 92/57/EEC and considers it to have been correctly transposed into Spanish law.

This conclusion is not affected by the fact that Royal Decree 1389/1997 transposing Directive 92/104/EEC on surface and underground mineral-extracting industries makes tunnelling activities of whatever nature subject to the minimum requirements applicable to the mining sector. Royal Decree 1389/1997 lays down that this shall be without prejudice to the rules applicable to the construction sector, namely the provisions transposing Directive 92/57/EEC.

In so far as Directive 92/57/EEC was adopted on the basis of Article 137 of the EC Treaty (ex-Article 118a), it lays down minimum requirements in the field of safety and health protection for implementation on temporary or mobile work sites. The expression minimum requirements means that the Member States are authorised to maintain or establish more rigorous measures than those which are the subject of Community intervention, in accordance with the provisions of Article 137 (5) of the EC Treaty.

Examination of the Spanish legislation has shown that application of the minimum requirements established for the mining sector to certain construction activities such as tunnelling increases the level of protection for workers laid down by Directive 92/57/EEC.

It is the responsibility of the Member States to ensure proper monitoring and surveillance of the national provisions transposing directives. In this regard, the appointment of the competent authorities is entirely a matter for the Member States.