Necessity and nature of a new EU OSH policy framework

General Questions

1. On behalf of social partner organisations

2. On behalf of EPSU and CEMR in their capacity as sectoral social partners “local and regional government”

3. EPSU-CEMR

4. Both organisations are based in Brussels

“Necessity and nature of a new EU OSH policy framework”

1. Do you agree with the assessment of the EU OSH Strategy? Did it lead to tangible results?

YES. We think that the past strategy was useful in principle. The evaluation of the strategy is a useful tool in most of its sections to assess what has been achieved and gives in particular an outlook for future priorities (page 172. ‘evaluations of the European Strategy on Safety and Health at work 2007-2012). Concerning tangible results the strategy has led to awareness-raising of occupational health and safety at national level in adopting national OSH strategies at the workplace.
While it remains a challenge to reduce work-related diseases it is important to have quantified targets which encourage to achieve results on both sides- employers and employees. This is particularly well documented in the case of work-related accidents, where the strategy aimed at a 25 % reduction. This can lead to more stategic visibility but more importantly promotes and indicator to measure improvements. In addition, data from the European Working Conditions Survey show that in general work organisational risks are increasing- it is important to note that the number of employees has at the same time reduced.

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