Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Improving quality and productivity at work: Community strategy 2007-2012 on health and safety at work {SEC(2007) 214} {SEC(2007) 215} {SEC(2007) 216}
Date: 2007-02-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Employment Strategy, employment policy, occupational health, occupational safety, productivity

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 21.2.2007 
COM(2007) 62 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Improving quality and productivity at work: 
Community strategy 2007-2012 on health and safety at work 

{SEC(2007) 214} 
{SEC(2007) 215} 
{SEC(2007) 216} 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Improving quality and productivity at work: 
Community strategy 2007-2012 on health and safety at work 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This  communication  proposes  a  strategy  for  promoting  health  and  safety  at  work  in  the 
European  Union  from  2007  to  2012.  Health  and  safety  at  work  is  now  one  of  the  most 
important and most highly developed aspects of EU policy on employment and social affairs1. 
Thanks to the adoption and application in recent decades of a large body of Community laws, 
it  has  been  possible  to  improve  working  conditions  in  the  EU  Member  States  and  make 
considerable progress in reducing the incidence of work-related accidents and illnesses. 

With a view to relaunching the policy on health and safety at work, the European Commission 
defined a new Community strategy in 2002 for the period 2002-2006. This was based on an 
overall approach to wellbeing at work which took account of changes in the workplace and 
the emergence of new risks, especially those of a psychosocial nature. 

The report on the evaluation of the Community strategy on health and safety at work 2002-
20062  concludes  by  saying  that  this  strategy  has  relaunched  prevention  policies  at  national 
level,  presents  coherent  and  convincing  arguments  in  favour  of  a  partnership  to  achieve 
common  objectives  and  obliges  interested  parties  in  the  prevention  field  to  give  strategic 
consideration to how these objectives might be attained; it has raised public awareness of the 
importance  of  health  and  safety  at  work  by  presenting  them  as  integral  parts  of  quality 
management and as determining features of economic performance and competitiveness. 

Under the Lisbon strategy, the Member States have acknowledged the major contribution that 
guaranteeing  quality  and  productivity  at  work  can  play  in  promoting  economic  growth  and 
employment. Indeed, the lack of effective protection to ensure health and safety at work can 
result in absenteeism, in the wake of workplace accidents and occupational illnesses, and can 
lead to permanent occupational disability. This not only has a considerable human dimension 
but  also  has  a  major  negative  impact  on  the  economy.  The  enormous  economic  costs  of 
problems associated with health and safety at work inhibits economic growth and affects the 
competitiveness of businesses in the EU. A considerable share of these costs also falls upon 
social security systems and public finances. 

In 2001, the Stockholm European Council undertook to raise the average employment rate in 
the  EU  for  men  and  women  within  the  55-64  age-group  to  50%  by  2010.  In  2002,  the 
Barcelona European Council concluded that "a progressive increase of about five years in the 
effective average age at which people stop working in the European Union should be sought 

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Policy based on Article 137 of the EC Treaty. 
The  report  on  the  evaluation  of  the  Community  strategy  on  health  and  safety  at  work  2002-2006  - 
SEC(2007) 214. 

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by  2010".  The  way  in  which  work  is  organised  today,  alongside  health  and  safety  in  the 
workplace,  can  play  a  major  role  in  helping  to  achieve  this  by  ensuring  wellbeing  at  work, 
maximising  the  ability  of  individuals  to  work  and  preventing  early  withdrawal  from  the 
labour market. 

In order to improve the employability of men and women and quality of life in the workplace, 
progress must also be made with regard to equality between the sexes. Inequality both inside 
and outside the workplace can have an effect on the health and safety of women at work3 and 
thus have an impact on their productivity. However, specific issues concerning the health and 
safety of men in the workplace also need to be given the attention they deserve. 

National and EU policies should help to create working environments and occupational health 
services  which  enable  workers  to  play  a  full  and  protective  part  in  working  life  until  they 
reach old age. We should be aiming for a situation in which work enhances a person's health 
and wellbeing and in which being able to find and retain a job improves the general health of 
the population. It is therefore important to emphasise the contribution good health at work can 
make  to  public  health  in  general.  Indeed,  the  workplace  is  a  context  which  is  particularly 
conducive to risk prevention measures and health promotion activities. 

The Community strategy 2002-2006 has seen a significant fall in the rate of accidents at work. 
The  new  strategy  for  2007-2012  proposes  to  step  up  our  ambition  and  to  aim  for  a  25  % 
reduction  in  the  total  incidence  rate  of  accidents  at  work  by  2012  in  EU-27  by  improving 
health and safety protection for workers and as one major contribution to the success of the 
Growth and Jobs Strategy. 

2. 

MAIN CHALLENGES CONCERNING HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK 

The innovative approach of the Community strategy 2002-2006 is already bearing fruit. The 
Member  States  have  made  real  progress  by  drawing  up  strategies  and  national  action 
programmes which are more focussed. Over the period 2000-2004 (latest data available), the 
rate  of  fatal  accidents  at  work  in  the  EU-15  has  fallen  by  17%  while  the  rate  of  workplace 
accidents  leading  to  absences  of  more  than  three  days  has  fallen  by  20%.4  These  positive 
trends can be expected to pursue as most recent figures will become available.  

In spite of the progress achieved, the latest results of the fourth European survey of working 
conditions show that many workers in Europe continue to perceive that their jobs pose a threat 
to their health or safety: 

- almost 28% of workers in Europe say that they suffer from non-accidental health problems 
which are or may be caused or exacerbated by their current or previous job; 

- 35% of workers on average feel that their job puts their health at risk. 

Moreover, occupational hazards are not being reduced in a uniform way: 

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some  categories  of  workers  are  still  overexposed  to  occupational  risks  (young 
workers, workers whose jobs are insecure, older workers and migrant workers); 

"Gender issues in safety and health at work". European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2003. 
SEC(2007) 214. 

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certain  types  of  companies  are  more  vulnerable  (SMEs,  in  particular,  have  fewer 
resources to put complex systems of worker protection in place, while some of them 
tend to be more affected by the negative impact of health and safety problems); 

certain  sectors  are  still  particularly  dangerous  (construction/civil  engineering, 
agriculture, fishing, transport, health care and social services). 

A  number  of  challenges  in  the  field  of  health  and  safety,  which  were  identified  during  the 
previous reporting period, are continuing to grow in importance. These include:  

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– 

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demographic change and the ageing of the working population; 

new employment trends, including the increase in self-employment, outsourcing and 
increased employment in SMEs; 

new and larger flows of migrants towards Europe. 

The number of women at work is also continuing to increase – a fact which often goes hand in 
hand  with  the  segregation  of  the  sexes  in  the  workplace.  Better  account  must  therefore  be 
taken of those aspects of health and safety which specifically affect women. 

Certain types of occupational illnesses becoming more common (musculo-skeletal disorders, 
infections  and  illnesses  associated  with  psychological  stress).  The  nature  of  occupational 
hazards is changing in tandem with the acceleration of innovation, the emergence of new risk 
factors (violence at work, including sexual and psychological harassment, and addictions) and 
the  transformation  of  work  patterns  (working  life  is  becoming  more  fragmented).  These 
changes  mean  that  a  better  understanding  of  the  problem  must  be  acquired  by  conducting 
specialised research in order to identify effective prevention measures. Finally, the degree to 
which  Community  legislation  has  actually  been  implemented  differs  measurably  from  one 
Member State to another. 

For  the  reasons  given  above,  efforts  must  be  continued  and  stepped  up  in  order  to  promote 
health and safety at work during the next five years.  

3. 

OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMUNITY STRATEGY 2007-2012 

An  ongoing,  sustainable  and  uniform  reduction  in  accidents  at  work  and  occupational 
illnesses continues to be the prime objective of the Community strategy for the period 2007-
2012. In the Commission's view, the overall objective during this period should be to reduce 
by 25% the total incidence rate of accidents at work per 100 000 workers in the EU 27. 

In order to achieve this ambitious goal, the following main instruments are proposed: 

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guarantee the proper implementation of EU legislation (cf. points 4.1, 4.2); 

support SMEs in the implementation of the legislation in force (cf. point 4.1); 

adapt the legal framework to changes in the workplace and simplify it, particularly in 
view of SMEs (cf. point 4.3); 

promote the development and implementation of national strategies (cf. point 5); 

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encourage  changes  in  the  behaviour  of  workers  and  encourage  their  employers  to 
adopt health-focused approaches (cf. point 6); 

finalise the methods for identifying and evaluating new potential risks (cf. point 7); 

improve the tracking of progress (cf. point 8); 

promote health and safety at international level (cf point 9). 

4. 

PUTTING IN PLACE A MODERN AND EFFECTIVE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK 

4.1. 

Strengthening implementation of Community legislation 

It is essential that the Community acquis be implemented effectively in order to protect the 
lives and health of workers and ensure that the companies operating within the large European 
market are placed on an equal footing. 

In  2004,  the  Commission  adopted  its  report  on  the  practical  implementation  of  framework 
Directive 89/391/EEC and its five individual directives5. The main conclusions reached in the 
report  confirm  that  these  directives  are  having  a  positive  impact  on  levels  of  protection  at 
national  level.  However,  the  report  identifies  serious  shortcomings  in  the  application  of 
Community  legislation,  particularly  in  sectors  considered  to  be  at  risk  and  for  categories  of 
workers  who  are  most  vulnerable  (young  people,  workers  on  fixed-term  contracts  and  low-
skilled workers), such as in SMEs and the public sector. 

Better  compliance  with  Community  legislation  will  effectively  contribute  to  reduce  the 
number  of  accidents  at  work  and  occupational  illnesses.  In  order  to  achieve  this,  the 
commitment of everyone must be reinforced, at both Community and national level. 

In  its  role  as  guardian  of  the  Treaties,  the  Commission  will  ensure  that  the  Community 
directives  are  transposed  and  implemented  effectively.  It  will  assist  Member  States  in  this 
regard,  but  also  exercise  the  utmost  vigilance  and  launch  infringement  proceedings  where 
necessary, as it has in fact already done. 

The  Member  States,  for  their  part,  are  under  an  obligation  to  ensure  that  Community 
legislation takes full effect. In this context, health and safety in European enterprises are at the 
heart  of  the  Commission's  concerns.  There  is  a  need  to  better  respond  to  the  particular 
circumstances  and  needs  of  SMEs,  particularly  as  regards  risk  assessment  and  the 
involvement and training of workers, and to circumstances in traditionally high-risk sectors, 
such as agriculture, construction and transport. 

The  national  strategies  should  therefore  give  priority  to  implementing  a  package  of 
instruments which guarantee a high level of compliance with the legislation, in particular in 
SMEs and high-risk sectors: 

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dissemination of good practice at local level; 

training white-collar and blue-collar workers; 

COM(2004) 62, 5.2.2004. 

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development of simple tools to facilitate risk assessment; 

distribution of information and guidelines written in simple language which is easy 
to understand and which are easy to put into practice; 

better dissemination of information and better access to counselling services; 

access to external prevention services which are of a high quality and affordable; 

involvement  of  labour  inspectors  as  intermediaries  to  promote  better  compliance 
with  the  legislation  in  SMEs,  primarily  through  education,  persuasion  and 
encouragement, then, where necessary, through coercive measures; 

use of economic incentives at Community level (e.g. via the Structural Funds) and at 
national level for micro-enterprises and SMEs. 

Through  the  new  PROGRESS  programme  and  in  tandem  with  the  Advisory 
Committee  on  health  and  safety  at  work  (ACSH),  the  Commission  will  draw  up 
practical guides on the correct application of Directives 92/57/EEC (temporary or 
mobile  construction  sites)6,  2004/40/EC  (electromagnetic  fields)7  and  2006/25/EC 
(optical radiation)8. Where appropriate, the guidelines will also take into account 
the forthcoming new scientific advice of the Scientific Committee on emerging and 
newly identified health risks. 

The  European  Agency  for  Health  and  Safety  at  Work  (European  Agency)  will 
ensure  that  its  efforts  to  raise  awareness  and  promote  and  disseminate  best 
practice focus to a greater degree on high-risk sectors and SMEs. 

The ACSH will continue its work not only to identify the areas for which guides to 
good  practice  are  necessary  and  but  also  to  make  them  easier  for  SMEs  to 
understand. 

More  problems  are  being  encountered  in  practice  when  trying  to  apply  health  and  safety 
legislation to sub-contracting, where each employer tends to limit preventive measures to its 
own workers. These situations, which are becoming more common, need to be given special 
attention, at both national and Community level. 

The Commission will work with the  ACSH to examine ways  in which employers 
can  work  together  when  several  levels  of  sub-contracting  coexist  at  the  same 
workplace; they will also explore the need for recommendations. 

The  implementation  of  Article  7  of  framework  Directive  89/391/EEC  reveals  considerable 
disparities with regard to the quality, coverage and accessibility of prevention services. This 
may  be  caused  by  the  different  ways  in  which  the  Member  States  define  the  skills  and 
aptitudes required as well as by excessive outsourcing of prevention activities.  

6 
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8 

OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 6. 
OJ L 159, 30.4.2004, p. 1. 
OJ L 114, 27.4.2006, p. 38. 

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After evaluating the situation at European level, the Commission will investigate 
whether a recommendation needs to be made which invites the Member States to 
take  steps  to  facilitate  access  to  good  quality  prevention  services,  where  the 
requisite  expertise  is  not  available  within  the  company;  this  is  of  particular 
relevance to SMEs. 

4.2. 

Reinforcing cooperation in efforts to monitor the application of the legislation 

It is essential that national legislation transposing the Community acquis on health and safety 
at  work  be  applied  effectively  and  in  a  uniform  manner  in  order  to  guarantee  comparable 
levels of protection in all the Member States. The Commission will continue to promote the 
work of the Senior Labour Inspectors' Committee (SLIC) at Community level with a view to 
improving  the  effectiveness  of  control  and  monitoring  of  the  application  of  the  legislation, 
facilitate  cooperation  between  labour  inspectorates  and  step  up  joint  action  with  regard  to 
specific sectors or risks. 

The SLIC is invited to: 

•  examine the reasons for the different incidence rates of occupational accidents in the 
Member  States  and  discuss  their  experience  of  innovative  solutions  which  have 
proved effective; 

•  do more, when assessing the impact of the REACH Regulation, to examine the role 
of  labour  inspectorates  and  develop  synergies  in  cooperation  with  other  inspection 
bodies responsible for market surveillance and environmental policy; 

•  do more to develop methods of exchanging information on the problems of applying 

the legislation which allow the problems to be addressed jointly; 

•  strengthen  cooperation  with  the  ACSH,  particularly  with  regard  to  preparing 

legislative initiatives and evaluating the implementation of directives. 

At national level, appropriate steps should be taken to enable labour inspectorates to ensure 
that  those  concerned  meet  their  obligations  and  are  able  to  exercise  their  rights,  including 
carrying out checks which result in the imposition of dissuasive and proportionate penalties 
and prosecution for failure to abide by health and safety rules. The new challenges, including 
migratory  flows,  justify  checks  being  carried  out  in  a  more  targeted  manner  and  the 
knowledge of inspectors being improved. 

4.3. 

Simplifying the legislative framework and adapting to change 

The  Commission  will  seek  to  ensure  that  the  legislative  framework  is  adapted  to  take  into 
account the state of the art and changes in the workplace, while abiding by the principle that 
legislation should be coherent, simple and effective and honouring the Community's objective 
of reducing the administrative burden on companies. 

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The Commission will: 

•  continue its work, through the ongoing consultations with the social partners, to find 
ways  of  improving  risk  prevention  with  regard  to  musculo-skeletal  disorders, 
carcinogens and needlestick infections; 

•  adopt a third list of indicative values for chemical agents; 

•  report on the evaluation of the implementation of Directives 92/57/EEC (temporary 
or  mobile  construction  sites),  92/58/EEC  (safety  and/or  health  signs  at  work)9, 
92/91/EEC  (extracting  industries  through  drilling)10,  92/104/EEC  (surface  and 
underground  mineral-extracting  industries)11,  92/29/EEC  (medical  treatment  on 
board vessels)12 and 93/103/EC (fishing vessels)13; 

•  evaluate  the  measures  taken  in  response  to  the  recommendations  concerning  self-

employed workers14 and the European schedule of occupational diseases15.  

Evaluating  and  simplifying  the  administrative  and  institutional  regulatory  framework  will 
remain  key  priorities  for  the  Commission,  in  accordance  with  the  principles  laid  out  in  its 
communications  "Better  Regulation  for  Growth  and  Jobs  in  the  European  Union16"  and 
"Implementing  the  Community  Lisbon  programme:  A  strategy  for  the  simplification  of  the 
regulatory environment17".  

The Commission will: 

•  continue  the  work  to  codify  the  "health  and  safety"  directives,  examining  the 
possibilities to simplify the legislation in order to reduce unnecessary administrative 
charges without compromising the achievement of the objectives announced in this 
Communication; 

•  propose an amendment to the decision establishing the SLIC with a view to reducing 

the number of its members and improving the way in which it works; 

•  encourage the establishment of a common methodology for evaluating the directives 
on health and safety at work in light of the forthcoming directive on simplifying and 
rationalising the reports on practical implementation18. 

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OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 23. 
OJ L 348, 28.11.1992, p. 9. 
OJ L 404, 31.12.1992, p. 10. 
OJ L 113, 30.4.1992, p. 19. 
OJ L 307, 13.12.1993. 
OJ L 53 28.2.2003, p. 45. 
OJ L 238, 25.9.2003, p. 28. 
COM(2005) 97, 16.3.2005. 
COM(2005) 535, 25.10.2005. 
COM(2006) 390, 14.7.2006. 

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At  national  level,  any  attempt  to  bring  about  a  tangible  simplification  of  the  situation  for 
companies  must  result  in  an  improvement  and  simplification  of  the  national  framework 
without  reducing  the  levels  of  protection  already  in  place.  The  Commission  has  already 
proposed that efforts to improve the legislation by simplifying it be included in the national 
"Lisbon"  programmes  and  recommends  that  the  Member  States  report  on  the  activities  in 
which they are already engaged and those which are planned. 

5. 

ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL STRATEGIES 

The degree to which the Community strategy is successful will depend on the Member States 
being  committed  to  adopting  coherent  national  strategies  which  establish  quantitative 
objectives  for  reducing  the  incidence  of  occupational  accidents  and  illnesses,  target  sectors 
and companies which have the worst track record and focus on the most common risks and 
the  most  vulnerable  workers.  These  strategies  should  be  defined  on  the  basis  of  a  detailed 
evaluation  of  the  national  situation,  with  the  active  participation  and  consultation  of  all 
interested parties, including the social partners.  

The ACSH will be an ideal forum for the tripartite exchange of information on the 
content of the national strategies, their objectives, the action unertaken,  the way in 
which  they  relate  to  Community  strategy  and  the  monitoring  of  the  progress 
achieved.  The  ACSH  will  also  exchange  experience  and  good  practice  and  seek  to 
ensure that the national strategies are formulated in a coherent manner and provide 
the same level of protection throughout the EU. 

The national strategies need to cover four areas in particular: 

5.1. 

Improving the preventive effectiveness of health surveillance 

Working conditions which have an adverse impact on health can have long-term effects and 
cause late-onset occupational illnesses and health problems, even after more than 20 years of 
exposure, as in the case of asbestos. The surveillance of workers' health is a major tool in the 
efforts to prevent such problems. 

The  Commission  is  encouraging  the  Member  States  and  the  business  sector  to 
implement  systematic  procedures  to  gather  and  analyse  the  data  drawn  from  the 
health  surveillance  of  workers  in  order  to  improve  prevention  while  avoiding 
inflating  the  formal  requirements  to  which  companies  are  subject.  The  national 
health  care  systems  should  play  a  more  active  role  by,  for  example,  organising 
campaigns to raise doctors' awareness of their patients' medical history and working 
conditions. 

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5.2. 

Taking action to promote the rehabilitation and reintegration of workers 

Every  year,  more  than  350 000  workers  are  forced  to  change  jobs  following  an  accident, 
300 000  suffer  permanent  disability  to  differing  degrees  and  15 000  are  excluded  from  the 
labour market for good19.  

The  Member  States  are  encouraged  to  incorporate  into  their  national  strategies 
specific measures (financial assistance, training tailored to individual needs, etc.) to 
improve  the  rehabilitation  and  reintegration  of  workers  excluded  from  the 
workplace for a long period of time because of an accident at work, an occupational 
illness or a disability. 

5.3. 

Dealing with social and demographic change 

The  challenges  arising  from  demographic  change  in  the  EU  are  highlighted  in  the 
Commission  communication  "The  demographic  future  of  Europe  –  from  challenge  to 
opportunity"20. Policy on health and safety at work can help to meet these challenges, largely 
by  tailoring  the  workplace  more  effectively  to  individual  needs  and  by  applying  reliable 
ergonomic principles more effectively to the way in which workplaces are designed and work 
is organised. 

Although it is true that the needs of an ageing working population in Europe need to be met, 
the situation of younger workers must not be neglected, especially that of young people who 
are particularly vulnerable to workplace-related risks. Disregarding this aspect would have the 
effect of shifting the risk to younger age-groups and paving the way for future problems. 

The  European  Agency  is  invited  to  draw  up,  through  its  risk  observatory,  a  report 
examining  the  specific  challenges  in  terms  of  health  and  safety  posed  by  the  more 
extensive  integration  of  women,  immigrant  workers  and  younger  and  older  workers 
into the labour market. It will help to pinpoint and monitor trends and new risks and 
identify measures which are essential.  

5.4. 

Strengthening policy coherence 

In  order  to  be  effective,  efforts  to  protect  and  promote  the  health  and  safety  of  workers  in 
Europe  call  for  the  effective  coordination,  at  Community  and  national  levels,  of  policy  on 
health and safety at work with the other policies which are likely to have an impact on this 
area. Steps should therefore be taken to exploit synergies and seek to ensure the coherence of 
the following policy areas in particular: 

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– 

– 

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19 

20 

public health, 

regional development and social cohesion, 

public procurement, 

employment and restructuring. 

Eurostat  –  Labour  Force  Survey  1999  module  Ad-Hoc  "Accidents  at  work  and  work-related  health 
problems" – Published in "Panorama of the European Union : work and health in the EU, A statistical 
portrait". 
COM(2006) 571. 

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The Commission will ensure that initiatives concerning health and safety at work are 
developed in a manner consistent with public health policies which aim to prevent ill 
health and prolong a healthy working life. In particular, the implementation of the 
present strategy will take account of the results of the consultation launched in 2007 
by the Green Paper "Towards a Europe free from tobacco smoke: policy options at 
EU level", as well as the results of the consultation which was completed in May 2006 
on "Promoting the Mental Health of the Population. Towards a strategy for mental 
health for the EU". 

Through  the  interdepartmental  working  party  on  health  and  safety  at  work,  the 
Commission  will  seek  to  ensure  that  when  initiatives  are  launched  in  other  policy 
areas, account is taken of how they will affect the protection of health and safety in 
the workplace. 

In  particular,  the  Commission  will  explore  the  ways  in  which  the  Community's 
various programmes and funds can be used to help improve the protection of health 
and safety for workers. 

6. 

PROMOTING CHANGES IN BEHAVIOUR  

Legislation can bring about changes in behavioural patterns. A strategy aimed at promoting a 
preventive  culture  must  address  all  parts  of  society  and  go  beyond  the  workplace  and  the 
working  population.  It  should  help  create  a  general  culture  that  values  health  and  risk 
prevention. 

6.1. 

Integrating health and safety into education and training programmes 

The  experience  gained  at  national,  regional  and  local  level  while  implementing  the  strategy 
for  2002-2006  shows  how  important  it  is  to  develop  a  risk  prevention  culture  in  training 
programmes  at  all  levels  of  education  and  in  all  fields,  including  vocational  training  and 
university  education.  Primary  education  plays  an  important  role,  since  basic  preventive 
reflexes are developed during childhood.  

Special  attention  should  also  be  paid  to  the  training  of  young  entrepreneurs  in  occupational 
health and safety management and to training for workers to make them aware of the risks in 
the company and how to prevent and combat them. This is particularly important for SMEs 
and migrant workers. 

The European Social Fund plays a crucial role here in supporting Member States's initiatives 
to develop a preventive culture in the field of health and safety at work. 

The European Agency will be requested to review the extent to which health and 
safety  aspects  have  been  incorporated  into  Member  States'  vocational  and 
occupational training policies. On the basis of this information and the opinion of 
the  Advisory  Committee  on  Safety,  Hygiene  and  Health  Protection  at  Work,  the 
Commission  will  consider  whether  or  not  to  present  a  proposal  for  a 
recommendation. 

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The Member States are called on to make wider use of the possibility offered by 
the  European  Social  Fund  and  other  Community  funds  of  developing  training 
projects in the field of health and safety at work for employers and workers. 

6.2. 

Healthier  and  safer  workplaces:  improving  health  and  promoting  awareness 
within companies 

Companies  which  invest  in  active  prevention  policies  to  protect  the  health  of  their  workers 
obtain  tangible  results:  reduction  in  costs  arising  from  absenteeism,  reduction  in  staff 
turnover, greater customer satisfaction, increased motivation, improved quality and enhanced 
company image. These positive effects can be reinforced by encouraging workers who work 
in a healthy environment to adopt lifestyles which improve their general state of health.  

The  Commission  encourages  the  Member  States  to  make  provision  in  their 
national  strategies  for  specific  initiatives  enabling  enterprises,  in  particular 
SMEs,  to  be  given  technical  assistance  and  advice  concerning  the  promotion  of 
workers' health. 

The  Commission  requests  the  European  Agency  to  collect  and  disseminate 
information  intended  to  support  the  development  of  occupational  health 
promotion  campaigns,  in  combination  with  the  strategy  and Community  public 
health programmes. 

The  Commission  requests  the  European  Foundation  for  the  Improvement  of 
Living and Working Conditions to examine the real effects of these campaigns.  

Changing people's attitudes to health and safety issues at work involves, among other things, 
raising the awareness of those involved in companies and ensuring that the rules relating to 
the  information,  training  and  participation  of  workers  are  applied  fully  and  effectively, 
enabling  them  to  acquire  adequate  professional  knowledge,  develop  preventive  reflexes  and 
perform their tasks safely. 

The  development  of  awareness  may  also  be  reinforced,  particularly  in  SMEs,  by  providing 
direct or indirect economic incentives for prevention measures. Such incentives could include 
a  possible  reduction  in  social  contributions  or  insurance  premiums  depending  on  the 
investment made in improving the working environment and/or reducing accidents; economic 
aid for the introduction of health and safety management schemes; introduction of health and 
safety requirements into procedures for the award of public contracts. 

The European Agency will be called upon to develop sectoral awareness-raising 
campaigns  targeted  in  particular  at  SMEs,  and  to  promote  the  management  of 
health and safety at work in enterprises through the exchange of experience and 
good practices aimed at specific sectors. 

The social partners are invited to draw up initiatives in the context of the sectoral 
social  dialogue  and  to  ensure  that  workers'  representatives  are  given  a  greater 
coordinating role in the systematic management of occupational risks. 

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7. 

CONFRONTING NEW AND INCREASING RISKS 

7.1. 

Identification of new risks 

Research, both basic and applied, is crucial to improve knowledge about health and safety at 
work,  to  describe  situations  of  exposure,  to  identify  causes  and  effects  and  to  design 
preventive solutions and innovative technologies. Scientific research provides arguments and 
evidence upon which policy decisions must be based.  

Research priorities should include psychosocial issues, musculoskeletal disorders, dangerous 
substances,  knowledge  of  reproductive  risks,  occupational  health  and  safety  management, 
risks  associated  with  several  cross-factors  (e.g.  work  organisation  and  workplace  design 
issues, ergonomics, combined exposure to physical and chemical agents) and potential risks 
associated with nanotechnologies. 

At  Community  level,  efforts  will  continue  to  be  stepped  up,  inter  alia,  under  the  seventh 
framework  programme  for  research,  supported  by  the  technology  platform  for  occupational 
safety  and  environmental  safety  which  published  its  strategic  agenda  for  research  in  2006. 
Several  issues  have  already  been  identified  for  future  calls  for  proposals  in  several  fields  – 
health,  nanosciences,  nanotechnologies,  materials  and  new  production  technologies,  socio-
economic sciences and the humanities – under this framework programme: assessment of the 
economic  dimension  of  occupational  health  and  safety  and  the  exposure  of  workers  to 
nanoparticles,  industrial  risk  management,  protective  equipment  and  structural  safety.  It 
should be added that more coordination between national research programmes is necessary. 
The setting up of national technology platforms may play an important role in this respect. 

The  European  Agency  is  called  upon  to  encourage  national  health  and  safety 
research 
include 
institutes  to  set  joint  priorities,  exchange  results  and 
occupational health and safety requirements in research programmes. 

The  Risk  Observatory  of  the  European  Agency  should  enhance  risk  anticipation 
to  include  risks  associated  with  new  technologies,  biological  hazards,  complex 
human-machine interfaces and the impact of demographic trends. 

The  Commission  encourages  Member  States  and  the  social  partners  to  promote 
the  practical,  rapid  implementation  of  the  results  of  basic  research  by  making 
simple preventive instruments available to enterprises and in particular to SMEs. 

7.2. 

Promotion of mental health at the workplace 

At the present time, problems associated with poor mental health constitute the fourth most 
frequent cause of incapacity for work. The WHO estimates that depression will be the main 
cause of incapacity by 2020. The workplace can be an appropriate place in which to prevent 
psychological problems and promote better mental health. 

The  Commission  encourages  Member  States  to  incorporate  into  their  national 
strategies  specific  initiatives  aimed  at  preventing  mental  health  problems  and 
promoting  mental  health  more  effectively,  in  combination  with  Community 
initiatives  on  the  subject,  including  the  employment  of  persons  with  a  mental 
disability. 

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The  Commission  stresses  the  importance  of  negotiations  between  the  social 
partners on preventing violence and harassment at the workplace and encourages 
them  to  draw  conclusions  from  the  assessment  of  the  implementation  of  the 
European framework agreement on work-related stress. 

8. 

ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS MADE 

It is necessary to develop new instruments to measure the progress achieved and the efforts 
made by all the players at both national and European level, in order to ensure that adequate 
follow-up is given to the implementation of this strategy. 

In the context of the Community statistical programme, the Commission adopted a 
proposal  for  a  European  Parliament  and  Council  Regulation  aimed,  inter  alia,  at 
this 
consolidating 
administrative  data  was  systematically  transmitted  to  the  Commission  by  the 
Member  States.  The  Commission  will  also  step  up  the  collection  of  occupational 
health and safety statistics in population surveys. 

the  ESAW21  and  EODS22  methods  and  ensuring 

that 

The  Commission  will  develop,  in  cooperation  with  the  Advisory  Committee  on 
Safety,  Hygiene  and  Health  Protection  at  Work,  a  common  system  for  the 
collection  and  exchange  of  information  on  the  content  of  national  strategies,  the 
assessment  of  the  implementation  of  the  set  objectives  and  the  effectiveness  of 
national  prevention  structures  and  the  efforts  deployed.  It  will  promote  the 
development of qualitative indicators to enhance the data provided by European 
statistics and opinion surveys on health and safety at work.  

9. 

PROMOTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 

In  an  increasingly  globalised  economy,  it  is  in  the  EU's  interest  to  raise  labour  standards 
throughout  the  world  by  taking  multilateral  action  in  cooperation  with  the  competent 
international bodies, and bilateral action in its relations with third countries. It must also help 
the candidate countries prepare for implementation of the acquis. Against this background, the 
EU should promote the preventive principles set out in its policy on safety and health at work 
by: 

– 

– 

strengthening  its  cooperation  with  ILO,  WHO  and  other  international organisations 
for the establishment of higher levels of protection globally, 

working  together  with  other  nations  to  promote  implementation  of  the  Global 
Strategy  on  Occupational  Safety  and  Health,  adopted  by  ILO  in  2003,  and 
ratification  of  the  Promotional  Framework  for  Occupational  Safety  and  Health 
Convention adopted in 2006, 

– 

stimulating the ratification of ILO Conventions by the Member States, 

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European statistics of accidents of work. 
European occupational diseases statistics. 

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– 

– 

– 

– 

working with third countries and international organisations to obtain a global ban on 
the  production,  marketing  and  use  of  asbestos  or  products  containing  asbestos,  and 
promoting health and safety at work in general,  

enhancing  the  collection  of  data  on  accidents  through  reporting  requirements  of 
serious accidents, thus improving the comparability of such data, 

strengthening  cooperation  with  developed  economies  such  as  the  United  States, 
Canada, Australia and Japan and with emerging economies such as China and India, 

assisting  the  candidate  countries  in  their  efforts  to  implement  the  acquis  on  health 
and safety at work. 

10. 

CONCLUSIONS 

For  both  economic  and  human  reasons,  health  and  safety  at  work  deserve  to  be  given  a 
prominent place on the Community's policy agenda. 

The  commitment  to  increase  employment  and  productivity  through  greater  competitiveness, 
which is central to the Lisbon strategy, requires an additional effort from all those involved to 
improve  the  EU's  performance  in  the  field  of  occupational  health  and  safety.  Occupational 
health  and  safety  plays  a  vital  role  in  increasing  the  competitiveness  and  productivity  of 
enterprises and contributing to the sustainability of social protection systems because it results 
in  reduced  costs  for  occupational  accidents,  incidents  and  diseases  and  enhances  worker 
motivation. Occupational accidents and diseases represent an enormous financial burden for 
public  and  private  social  protection  systems  and  require  an  integrated,  coordinated  and 
strategic response, as well as cooperation between the main parties involved in the European 
Union with regard to the development of Community and national policies. The Commission, 
acting in cooperation with the other parties involved, will give details and the exact schedule 
of specific measures to be undertaken at Community level in the Social Agenda scoreboard; 
these will complement the measures which the Member States promise to implement.  

The Commission aims with this Communication to encourage all the parties involved to make 
a concerted effort to reduce the high cost of occupational accidents and diseases and to make 
well-being at work  a tangible reality for  European citizens, one concrete step in developing 
the Citizens' Agenda adopted on May 10, 2005. 

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