Each year on 28 April, International Workers’ Memorial Day, we in the European Trade Union Confederation and our affiliated unions count the cost of another 12 months of dangerous working conditions and inadequate safety precautions.
In 2012 (the last time the European Union collected figures), 3,515 people died as a result of workplace accidents in Europe. A further 100,000 perish every year from cancers contracted at work. These shocking figures are unacceptable in an EU which claims to safeguard its citizens’ wellbeing.
According to 2012 World Health Organisation figures, skin cancer, for example, kills 22,000 people in Europe each year. Workplace exposure to chemicals, arsenic, distillation by-products and natural UV radiation (sunlight) are among the many risk factors, and yet a tiny proportion of skin cancers are acknowledged to be occupational.
Recognition of occupational cancer risks for women has also been slow to emerge. And yet more and more studies show a strong link between breast cancer and exposure to certain work related substances and practices.
Trade unions are demanding a culture of prevention with regard to all forms of occupational cancer. Union-led workplace safety committees play an essential role in identifying risks and promoting changes to remove them. Key priorities include replacement of carcinogenic substances by less dangerous ones, medical surveillance (to continue post-employment), and better data on workers’ exposure.
EU decision-makers have done far too little to tackle this situation. For example, a directive on carcinogens and mutagens has been under review for some 12 years without any improvements. On International Workers’ Memorial Day this year, the ETUC is calling for tougher EU and national legislation, which is vital to the welfare of workers.
As a result of trade union pressure, the European commission has now promised action to protect workers from cancer, and we are monitoring progress on this pledge. We are demanding binding workplace exposure limits for 50 of the most common cancer-causing agents at work – at the moment only five are covered.
If the United Kingdom chooses to leave the EU, it will increase the dangers to British workers’ health and safety. An in-depth analysis from the Trades Union Congress shows that Brexit could see many of the vital protections that keep workers safe in shops, factories, offices or on building sites stripped away, leaving millions of people at greater risk of injury and illness in the workplace.
One deeply disappointing failure has been the commission’s refusal to legislate on the agreement on hairdressers’ health and safety, reached between employers and trade unions back in 2012. According to the commission itself, hairdressing brings a 10 times greater risk of contracting occupational skin diseases than any other profession, with a five-times higher rate of back pain.
Psychosocial risks are a growing concern, and are reported in more than three-quarters of establishments across Europe. We are demanding action to tackle old and new hazards, including stress, harassment and musculoskeletal disorders. In view of this, we were deeply disappointed that, despite the recommendation for action from some EU institutions, the commission decided this week to ignore calls for companies to register their use of nanomaterials.
The challenges facing Europe today, of tackling climate change, harnessing new technologies and creating good, sustainable jobs, give us an opportunity also to improve people’s healthy working lives. After all, we should be working for a living, not to put our lives at risk.
———————————
Esther Lynch is confederal secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. She tweets @EstherLynchs