EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/671

(2004/C 78 E/0715)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3910/03

by Amalia Sartori (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 December 2003)

Subject: Domestic accidents and workplaces

Domestic accidents, not only in Italy but world wide, have taken on alarming proportions.

Statistics show that each year well over three million people are affected by such accidents. Of these more than seven thousand die as a result of the accident. As the World Health Organisation points out this type of incident, which affects all age groups, is the main cause of death among young children in developed countries although the worst affected are housewives.

The causes of such accidents are varied. Some are due to absent-mindedness, carelessness, lack of awareness of and/or respect for safety standards, the presence in the home of dangerous equipment or chemical substances. However, they are also very often due to an inadequate safety and prevention culture.

Given that housewives form part of a category of workers who often are not adequately protected, a major step forward might be to consider the domestic environment as a ‘workplace’, contrary to what is stipulated in Council Directive 98/24/EC (1) of 7 April 1998 on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work.

Under the Italian law of 3 December 1999 (No 493) on health protection standards in the home and establishment of insurance against domestic accidents (2), the domestic environment is considered to constitute a workplace.

What does the Commission intend to do in this respect?

Does it consider it appropriate to take action in support of housewives along the lines of the relevant Italian legislation?

Answer given by Ms Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(19 January 2004)

The Commission shares the Honourable Member's concern about the number of accidents in the home.

The protection of workers at work is governed by framework Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (3) and its 17 individual Directives, adopted pursuant to Article 16(1). According to Article 3 of the framework Directive, a worker is ‘any person employed by an employer, including trainees and apprentices but excluding domestic servants’. Housewives, not being employed by an employer in accordance with the definition in Directive 89/391/EEC, do not therefore come within its scope or that of the individual Directives based on it, in particular Council Directive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998 on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work (4), mentioned by the Honourable Member.

It goes without saying that Member States are free to adopt specific measures to protect women's health and safety in the home. The case described by the Honourable Member, i.e. the Italian law of 3 December 1999 (No 493) on health protection standards in the home and establishment of insurance against domestic accidents, is very interesting and could act as an example for other Member States.

However, as the Community legislation in the area of health and safety is based on Article 137 of the EC Treaty, which provides only for the adoption of minimum standards for the protection of workers, the Commission does not envisage taking any specific measures at Community level to include the home environment in the definition of a workplace.

(1) OJ L 131, 5.5.1998, p. 11.

(2) Published in Official Gazette No 303 of 28 December 1999.

(3) OJ L 183, 29.6.1989.

(4) OJ L 131, 5.5.1998.