Debate: Improving firefighters’ working conditions
Date: THURSDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2023
Speaker: Dragoş Pîslaru
Country: Spain
Language: EN

And this summer, our planet has experienced its hottest three-month period on record. At the beginning of June, on the other side of the ocean, in Canada, an area 12 times greater than the average of previous years had been lost. From July on, the most dramatic news came from Greece. Due to high temperatures and strong gusts of wind, almost 30 000 people were forced to evacuate from their homes on the island of Rhodes. It was the largest fire ever registered in Europe. Sadly, many other European countries followed Greece between July and August. And last year we had similar events happening all over Europe. Firefighters play an indispensable role in protecting lives, the environment and the infrastructure in the EU. They operate under extremely difficult working conditions and are exposed daily to highly carcinogenic, combustible and chemical substances and intensely stressful situations. Firefighters have up to 300% higher chance of getting cancer than the general population. On 22 March, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs organised a hearing where we had the opportunity to meet firefighters and their representatives for various EU countries and hear their testimonials. I can tell you that their stories are emotional, showing how difficult their situation is and how many challenges they face in the fight with extreme fires and urgent situations in order to protect us all. Our current legislation, European and national health and safety legislation, is not suitable to protect workers facing ad hoc high levels of exposure, as well as to ensure proper working conditions for them. It is clear that we need further actions at EU level. Dear Commissioner Ferreira, the questions to start this debate are the following: will the Commission put forward an EU proposal on minimum standards for firefighters’ gear and personal protective equipment? Will the Commission take further action following the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recognition of firefighting as carcinogenic occupation? Will the Commission consider the establishment of a European register to collect disaggregated data on occupational diseases developed by the sector?  In the view of the need to increase firefighter numbers in the future, how does the Commission intend to safeguard this voluntary commitment in Europe without putting Directive 2003/88/EC on working time into question? How will the Commission, jointly with the Member States and social partners, ensure the protection of firefighters and their working conditions, including compensation for overtime? And last but certainly not least, is the Commission considering more investment in new research and technology in the sector?  I will switch to Romanian right now. Nu aș putea încheia această dezbatere despre protecția pompierilor la nivel european fără să aduc în discuție noile dovezi cu privire la riscurile enorme și condițiile de muncă deficitare cu care se confruntă acești oameni. În România, în 26 august, la Crevedia, două explozii enorme au produs în jur de 58 de victime, dintre care peste 40 sunt pompieri. Au fost cinci decese. Pompierii și-au pierdut viața, iar restul au fost spitalizați cu arsuri grave.  România a activat Mecanismul european de protecție civilă pentru transferul victimelor în spitalele din statele membre ale Uniunii Europene. Asta, în timp ce pe planul național de resetare și reziliență, unde avem bani europeni, România tocmai a decis să taie investiții importante pentru sectorul sanitar, pentru sănătate, între care cea mai mare de 740 de milioane de euro pentru construcția de spitale.  Nu i-am fi putut salva dacă nu ar fi fost mecanismul Uniunii Europene de consolidare a cooperării dintre țări. Uniunea Europeană este importantă pentru a asigura condițiile bune de muncă și pentru o protecție a pompierilor. Mulțumesc și așteptăm această dezbatere și răspunsurile Comisiei Europene. Vreau să mulțumesc foarte mult colegilor mei, coordonatorilor din Comisia de muncă și afaceri sociale pentru alinierea completă pentru protecția pompierilor pe tot teritoriul Uniunii Europene.