WRITTEN QUESTION E-0971/01 by Alejandro Cercas (PSE) to the Commission. Accidents at work.
Date: 2001-03-30
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Spain, health policy, occupational accident, occupational health, occupational safety

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/167

(2001/C 318 E/179)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0971/01

by Alejandro Cercas (PSE) to the Commission

(30 March 2001)

Subject: Accidents at work

The steady increase in the number of work-related accidents occurring in Spain is a cause for concern.
A recent report by the Economic and Social Council indicates not only that the situation is serious (1133
deaths and 935 000 injuries last year) but also (cid:129) more worryingly (cid:129) that it is getting worse from year to
year, particularly on account of the growth in precarious forms of employment in which the accident rate
is increasing significantly. The final conclusion put forward in the report is that the Spanish Government is
not doing all that it should in order to deal with the problem.

According to its reply to an earlier Question (E-0625/00), the Commission merely processes the data it
receives from the Spanish Government (the most recent of which date from 1996) and to launching
legislative and non-legislative initiatives which leave it to the Member States(cid:146) governments to devise
policies designed to reduce the number of work-related accidents.

The legal framework may well be very limited in scope, but when a Member State (Spain) records an
accident rate which is twice the EU average and when appropriate action to remedy such a serious
problem is not taken, some additional initiative is called for. If the statistics in question were economic
ones (inflation, exchange rate, etc.) rather than ones relating to fatal accidents, the Commission would
surely seek some way of improving them.

Does the Commission not think that, in view of the seriousness of the situation and the increasing number
of work-related accidents in Spain, the moment has come to draw up a more active strategy based on an
on-the-spot appraisal of the situation and to help the Spanish Government seek remedies which it appears
incapable of finding by itself?

Answer given by Ms Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(30 May 2001)

The Commission unreservedly shares the Honourable Member(cid:146)s concerns with regard to work-related
accidents in Spain.

The latest data available, from 1998 (1), show an improvement at European level
in both the rate of
accidents entailing more than three days(cid:146) sick leave (4 089 accidents per 100 000 employees in 1998,
compared to 4 229 in 1996 and 4 539 in 1994) and the fatal work-related accident rate (3,5 fatal
accidents per 100 000 employees in 1998 compared to 3,6 in 1996 and 3,9 in 1994).

The same data for Spain show a slight improvement in the fatal accident rate between 1994 and 1998, but
an increase in the rate of accidents entailing more than three days(cid:146) sick leave.

These statistical indicators show that the European-level application of Community health and safety at
work legislation has had a positive impact on working conditions by reducing the accident rate and does
therefore, when correctly applied, improve the health and safety of workers.

The Commission takes the view that it is for the Member States to promote and ensure the correct and
effective application of the national provisions transposing the Community directives. For its part, the
Commission plans, depending on the results of ongoing evaluation work, to propose awareness-raising
activities for the various players in its new health and safety at work strategy, in order to reinforce the
measures taken in this area so far.

(1) ESAW data (European Statistics of Accidents at Work) from Eurostat.