EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 65/184

(2004/C 65 E/201)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2644/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(10 September 2003)

Subject: Preventing accidents by using skilled workers to load seagoing vessels

1. Does the Commission agree that the sinking of the Danish cargo vessel ‘Karin Cat’ demonstrates the substantial risks associated with the loading of ships that everything must therefore be done to ensure the safety of the crew as well as of the cargo and that a fundamental condition of this is that cargo should be loaded and secured in an expert manner by skilled dock workers?

2. Can the Commission explain why, despite the fact that Belgium's Major Act explicitly prohibits dock work being carried out by non-dock workers, this is in fact what happened in this case, and does the Commission foresee the possibility of taking steps against the infringement of this national legislation?

3. Does the Commission feel that the infringement of this legislation has consequences in terms of responsibility for the accident?

4. Has this sequence of events encouraged the Commission, in the interests of crew and vessel safety, to rethink its position, which advocates the possibility of ‘self-handling’ of cargo by a ship's crew, either in connection with the port services directive currently in conciliation or by some other means, and to tighten up the rules rather than to relax them? If so, how is the Commission going about this? If not, why not?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(21 October 2003)

The Commission wishes to refer the Honourable Member to the answer it provided to him on question E-2643/03 (1).

The Commission would also like to draw the attention of the Honourable Member to the fact that the safety and health of workers at workplace is covered by the relevant Community Directives, notably the Framework Directive 89/391/EEC (2) and, inter alia, the individual Directives 89/655/EEC (3), 89/656/EEC (4) and 90/269/EEC (5).

According to these Directives, the employer is responsible for ensuring the safety and health of workers in every aspect related to the work and shall establish a risk assessment and take the necessary preventive measures.

Member States must transpose the Directives to national law and it is up to them to ensure adequate controls and supervision.

Moreover, the Commission wishes to recall that the proposed Directive on Market Access to Port Services, currently in the concluding stages of the conciliation procedure, foresees that self-handling could only be allowed to be carried out by seafaring crews, only if the criteria requested by providers of similar services in a port are respected.

These criteria may include professional qualifications of the personnel carrying out the service and respect of maritime safety, or the safety of the port or access to it, its installations, equipment and persons.

(1) See page 183.

(2) Council 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, OJ L 183, 29.6.1989.

(3) Council Directive 89/655/EEC of 30 November 1989 concerning the minimum safety and health requirement for the use of work equipment by workers at work, OJ L 393, 30.12.1989.

(4) Council Directive 89/656/EEC of 30 November 1989 concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use by workers of personal protective equipment at the workplace, OJ L 393, 30.12.1989.

(5) Council Directive 90/269/EEC of 29 May 1990 on the minimum safety and health requirements for the manual handling of loads where there is a risk particularly of back injury to workers, OJ L 156, 21.6.1990.