Source: European Parliament
The Commission takes the risk of work accidents very seriously. The EU legislation on occupational safety and health (OSH), including Directive 89/391/EEC[1], ensures protection of workers against all risks at work.
EU OSH Directives lay down minimum requirements and Member States may adopt more stringent protective measures. It is primarily for the national authorities to investigate accidents and enforce national measures transposing EU Directives.
The Commission analyses and publishes data on work accidents reported by Member States in the framework of the European Statistics on Accidents at Work[2].
This is currently done at national level. The European Social Fund Plus[3] promotes health and safety at work via its different programmes.
The one for Sicily[4] plans to invest more than EUR 3.7 million (EU share) on measures for a healthy and well-adapted working environment addressing health risks.
The Commission and EU OSH stakeholders pursue, in line with the EU Strategic Framework for Health and Safety at Work 2021 — 2027, actions to prevent work-related accidents and illness in line with a Vision Zero approach to work-related deaths.
For example, the EU regularly adopts new legislative measures and guidelines to prevent the exposure of workers to hazardous chemicals, such as asbestos and other carcinogens, at work.
In addition, the Commission has published several guidelines such as on protecting the health and safety of workers in agriculture[5], which include information on work safety in transport and in construction[6].
Finally, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work published several Online interactive Risk Assessment Tools (OiRA) for different economic sectors including agriculture and construction.
- [1] OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A31989L0391
- [2] See e.g. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Accidents_at_work_statistics
- [3] Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021.
- [4] https://fse.regione.sicilia.it/
- [5] See https://osha.europa.eu/sites/default/files/OSH_workers_agriculture_livestock_farming.pdf
- [6] See https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/96b5fe83-ef7d-4628-9af0-e02b25810c1d