CELEX: 51988PC0078
Language: en
Date: 1988-03-07
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE MINIMUM HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR HANDLING HEAVY LOADS WHERE THERE IS A RISK OF BACK INJURY FOR WORKERS ( FIFTH INDIVIDUAL DIRECTIVE WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 13 OF DIRECTIVE... ) COM ( 88 ) 73 FINAL

N o C 117/8                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                    4. 5. 88
                                                                II
                                                        (Preparatory Acts)
                                                  COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Directive on the minimum health and safety requirements for handling
                                heavy loads where there is a risk of back injury for workers
                                                 (Fifth individual Directive) (')
                                                        COM(88) 78 final
                              (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 11 March 1988)
                                                         (88/C 117/09)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            near future a Directive on protection against the risks
                                                                    resulting from the handling of heavy loads;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 118A                  Whereas Member States have a responsibility to ensure
thereof,                                                            the safety and health of persons on their territory, and of
                                                                    workers in particular;
Having regard to the Commission proposal drawn up
after consultation with the Advisory Committee on
Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work (2),                  Whereas Member States' legislative systems differ widely
                                                                    with regard to the prevention of industrial accidents and
                                                                    occupational diseases caused by the manual handling of
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                        heavy loads;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                    Whereas, in order to achieve the maximum degree of
Social Committee,                                                   protection which is reasonably practicable, it is essential
                                                                    that workers and their representatives be informed of the
                                                                    risks to their safety and health and of the measures
Whereas Article 118A of the Treaty provides that the
                                                                    required to reduce or eliminate these risks;
Council shall adopt, by means of Directives, minimum
requirements for encouraging improvements as regards
the health and safety of workers, especially in the
                                                                    Whereas cooperation between employers and workers
working environment;
                                                                    and workers' representatives must be strengthened;
Whereas Article 118A also recommends that Directives
shall avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal            Whereas employers must keep abreast of technological
constraints which would hold back the creation and                  progress in order to provide optimum safety and health
development of SMUs;                                                protection for their workers;
Whereas the communication from the Commission on its                Whereas a committee must be set up to assist the
programme concerning safety, hygiene and health at                  Commission in implementing the additional measures
work (J) provides for the adoption of Directives designed           provided for in the Directive,
to guarantee the safety and health of workers;
                                                                    HAD ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Whereas the Council Resolution of 21 December 1987
on safety, hygiene and health at work took note of the
Commission's intention to submit to the Council in the
                                                                                             Article 1
0) COM(88) 73 final.                                                This Directive, which is an individual Directive within
O Council Decision 74/325/EEC of 27 June 1974.                      the meaning of Article 13 of Directive . . . ., lays down
O COM(87) 520 final — Council Resolution of 21 December             the minimum health and safety requirements for workers
    1987, OJ No C 28, 3. 2. 1988.                                   for the manual handling of heavy loads.
 ---pagebreak--- 4. 5. 88                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                  N o C 117/9
                           Article 2                                    — the weight of a heavy load,
The Member States shall take the necessary measures to                  — the centre of gravity or the heaviest side when a
ensure that, in order to protect the health and safety of                    package is eccentrically loaded.
workers, employers, as far as possible, prevent them
from having to handle heavy loads without mechanical                                               Article 6
assistance.                                                             The employer must consult the workers or their rep-
                                                                        resentatives about the measures taken pursuant to this
                           Article 3                                    Directive.
1.     Where the manual handling of a heavy load cannot
                                                                                                   Article 7
be avoided, in order to assess the safety of the type of
work involved, the employer must examine in advance                      1.    The Commission shall adapt the Annexes of this
                                                                        Directive to take account of technical progress and the
— the physical effort required, and                                     development of international regulations or specifications
— the characteristics of the load.                                      on the manual handling of heavy loads.
For the assessment of these two factors reference shall be              2.     When adapting the Annexes in accordance with the
made to Annex I.                                                        previous paragraph, the Commission shall be assisted by
                                                                        a committee in accordance with the procedure provided
2.     In order to take the necessary measures to reduce                for under Article 14 of Directive
the risk of back injury, employers must take into account                                          Article 8
the physical and organizational factors listed in Annex II
when heavy loads are to be handled manually.                             1.    The Member States shall adopt the laws, regu-
                                                                        lations and administrative provisions necessary to comply
                                                                        with this Directive by 1 January 1991 at the latest. They
                           Article 4                                    shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.
Employers must take account of the individual charac-
                                                                         2.    The Member States shall forward to the
teristics of the workers when organizing manual
                                                                         Commission the texts of any national legislation which
handling work on the basis of Annex III.
                                                                        they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.
                           Article 5                                     3.    The Member States shall report back to the
                                                                         Commission every two years on the practical implemen-
1.     Workers must be given proper training and infor-                  tation of the provisions of this Directive on the handling
mation on the risks they incur when carrying out ac-                     of heavy loads, indicating the views of the employers and
tivities which may cause back injury if they are not done               workers. The Commission shall inform the Committee
correctly. There must be qualified staff to carry out                    and the tripartite committee.
frequent supervision.
                                                                                                   Article 9
2.     As far as possible workers shall also be informed
of:                                                                     This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
                                      Characteristics of the load and the physical effort involved
              1. A load may present a risk of back injury if it is:
                     too heavy, too large, or both,
                     unwieldy and/or difficult to grasp,
                 — unbalanced, unstable or has contents likely to shift,
                     located in a position requiring to be held or manipulated at a distance from the trunk, or with the
                     trunk in a stooped or twisted posture, or with the trunk leaning sideways.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 117/10                           Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n Communities                     4. 5. 88
           2. A physical effort may present a risk of back injury if it is:
              — too strenuous,
              — badly placed in relation to the body (see last indent above),
              — only achieved by a twisting movement of the trunk,
              — likely to result in a sudden movement by the object being manipulated,
              — made with the body in an unstable posture.
                                                                ANNEX      II
                                            Reference factors referred to in Article 3
           1. The work environment may present a risk of back injury if:
              — the activity cannot be carried out with adequate headroom,
              — the floor is uneven, presents tripping hazards, or is slippery in relation to the worker's footwear,
              — it prevents access to, carriage of or placement of a load at a safe height with good posture by the
                  worker,
              — an exceptional effort is required for maintenance work on machinery.
           2. The task may also present a risk of back injury if it requires:
              — too frequent or prolonged physical effort by a part or all of the body,
              — an insufficient rest and recovery period,
              — excessive lifting, lowering or carrying distances.
                                                                ANNEX      III
                                                 Workers referred to in Article 4
           The worker may be at risk if he/she is:
           — unable physically to carry out the task in question (including workers who are handicapped, ill or
               pregnant),
           — too small or tall for the task,
           — inappropriately dressed, including unsuitable footwear,
           — untrained for the task.