(27 June 2011) Trade unions in Europe share a fundamental concern: the opening of the European electricity and gas markets has increased competition and a re-focusing of the power companies towards profits and dividends it emerged during discussions at a conference on nuclear safety. The constant push for cost-savings to ensure profits are made goes at the expense of safety and security. This is an issue especially important in the nuclear industry which requires a high level of security as accidents have such a devastating effect. While the owners of the nuclear power plants seek high levels of safety and training of the core work force, they engage many (sub-) contractors at the same time. This happens at new sites were nuclear power stations are constructed such as Flamanville (Fr) as well as during the maintenance and repair phase. Participants at the conference testified that sub-contracting has gone up reaching 80% of the work force employed at some sites. Unions reported on how contractors got away with unqualified work and how their workers received less thorough checks.
As there are many workers of subcontractors on a site, these workers are often covered by different collective agreements. Cooperation between unions across their institutional organizational borders is a condition to reach out to workers in subcontractors which are often not organized. Cooperation between health and safety representatives of works council also improves a very powerful tool to improve the conditions of the subcontracted workforce.
EPSU’s Jan Willem Goudriaan participated in the Conference, chairing a roundtable with colleagues representing subcontractors as well as operators. He reported on the recent success in convincing the European Parliament to support amendments to the proposed Directive on the Management of Spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.
EPSU supported amendments dealing with health and safety and training and ensuring the same high standards were also extended to subcontractors was supported. Unions are now seeking to convince their governments. Further speakers came from the European Commission DG Energy, ETUI-health and safety, employers which employ many subcontractors such as EDF and Areva. There was a sharp debate about responsibilities and a fundamental discussion about the fact that nuclear issues as not part of the changes to the EU Treaty (Lisbon) but continue to be considered under the also EUratom treaty. The result is that the unions (and the European Parliament !) do not have the same possibilities to be consulted as under the Lisbon Treaty. To make matters worse DG Energy of the European Commission thinks that social issues should be considered by DG Employment and outside of the energy legislation, an attitude the unions found unacceptable as the Commission has agreed to mainstream more.
Subcontracting and its impact on nuclear safety and security was the main issue of the conference organized by EPSU affiliate CGT-FNME. Other issues included the exposure to radiation and changes to the measurement and use of data. Does the European radiation passport present all workers the same protection or does it undermine existing arrangements ?
The Conference also adopted a message of solidarity (attached below) with the Japanese workers.
Participants included several EPSU affiliated unions from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, UK.
The conference received financial support from the European Commission (DG Employment) and was further supported by GMB, Gazelco, the Hungarian Electricity Workers and the Finnish union of professional engineers. The Conference took place 17-18 June 2011, Fontainebleau, France.
EPSU reaction following the accidents in Fukushima
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