evaluation of the european strategy on safety and health at work ...

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EVALUATION OF THE EUROPEAN STRATEGY ON SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK 2007-201253› The role <strong>of</strong> guides in relation to o<strong>the</strong>r information material produced,including national guidance, should be brought into <strong>the</strong>se considerations› The relevant institutions and organisations, not members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ACSH, shouldalso be involved in this process.Subcontracting and preventive servicesTwo specific issues were identified <strong>the</strong> European Strategy as being <strong>of</strong> particularimportance with regard to <strong>the</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> EU OSH legislation:› The presence at workplaces <strong>of</strong> different levels <strong>of</strong> sub-contracting can cause alot <strong>of</strong> difficulties when it comes to applying OSH requirements as eachemployer tends to limit preventive measures to its own workers.› Access to prevention services should be facilitated, in particular for SMEs,especially when <strong>the</strong> requisite expertise is not available within <strong>the</strong> company.The Strategy mandated <strong>the</strong> Commission to examine <strong>the</strong>se two specific topics and toissue recommendations.On <strong>the</strong> one hand, <strong>the</strong> ACSH has set up a working party to deal with subcontractingissues. 46 However, despite <strong>the</strong> fact that this particular problem was reiterated in <strong>the</strong><strong>evaluation</strong> report on <strong>the</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Construction Sites Directive in2008, very little has been done under this working party and <strong>the</strong> Commission hasacknowledged <strong>the</strong> combined lack <strong>of</strong> action <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Commission and <strong>the</strong> ACSH onthis topic, which represents a major gap in <strong>the</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Strategy.On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, subcontracting was one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> topics <strong>of</strong> discussion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 2010SLIC Thematic Day. 47 In particular, <strong>the</strong> OSH challenges <strong>of</strong> dealing withsubcontracting chains were discussed, including <strong>the</strong> coordination difficulties,which increase <strong>the</strong> level <strong>of</strong> risks, <strong>the</strong> problems with long chains <strong>of</strong> subcontracting<strong>of</strong> cooperation between employers (e.g. because <strong>of</strong> conflicting interests orcommunication problems, in particular with regard to migrant workers), <strong>the</strong>dilution <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> responsibilities, <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> training <strong>of</strong> precarious workers in safetyprocedures, etc.The labour inspectors discussed <strong>the</strong> possible solutions to remedy <strong>the</strong>se problems, inparticular joint liability <strong>of</strong> all <strong>the</strong> subcontracting chain employers (i.e. joint liability<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> administration, managers and directors for <strong>the</strong> payment <strong>of</strong> a fine whenever<strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fender is a corporate body; joint liability <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> contractor with <strong>the</strong>subcontractors that perform all or part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> contract in his premises or under hisresponsibility, for all very serious <strong>of</strong>fences committed by <strong>the</strong> subcontractors;jointly liability <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> user <strong>of</strong> interim workers for all very serious <strong>of</strong>fences <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>interim agency). They also discussed <strong>the</strong> methods/approaches <strong>the</strong>y could take todeal with subcontracting issues in <strong>the</strong>ir daily pr<strong>of</strong>essional lives, including:46 Mandate Sub-contracting, adopted on 25/06/2010 by <strong>the</strong> Advisory Committee on Safetyand Health at Work, Doc 845/2010.47 Subcontracting: Challenges for Health and Safety and Labour Inspection, SLIC ThematicDay, Brussels, 22 November 2010http://projects.cowiportal.com/ps/A019055/Documents/3 Project documents/Interim and final report/Final report October 2012/OSH <strong>evaluation</strong>-report_Final_submitted 14 March2013.docx
54 EVALUATION OF THE EUREVALUATION OF THE EUROPEAN STRATEGY ON SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK 2007-201254› Use <strong>of</strong> legal possibilities provided by joint liability (e.g. fines are addressed todirect responsibles and to all actors with joint liability)› Final users are encouraged to assume a monitoring role (e.g. cooperation withlabour inspectors)› Integrated inspections: focus on all work components (premises, equipments,work procedures, working times, information and training, wages, socialprotection)Subcontracting has been acknowledged by many stakeholders interviewed as anissue <strong>of</strong> crucial importance in certain high-risk sectors, such as construction, whichwould require a higher level <strong>of</strong> attention from <strong>the</strong> Commission.On preventive services, two issues in particular require more investigation andpotential action at EU level: <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> external preventive services as well as<strong>the</strong> additional costs that are involved in <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> hiring external expertise forSMEs. These are common problems faced by many companies, small and large,across <strong>the</strong> EU.On this topic, <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> action from <strong>the</strong> Commission and <strong>the</strong> ACSH is ano<strong>the</strong>rclear gap in <strong>the</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Strategy. It is all <strong>the</strong> more regrettable than<strong>the</strong> ground had been prepared before 2007 for action on this issue. The 2004 reporton <strong>the</strong> practical implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Framework Directive and several o<strong>the</strong>rindividual directives 48 mentioned some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> common issues in <strong>the</strong> EU-15 relatedto <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> external preventive and protective services. In particular, <strong>the</strong> reportnoted that:› There is not yet a systematic access <strong>of</strong> all enterprises to protective andpreventive services in Europe at <strong>the</strong> moment. The problems are especiallysignificant in relation to SMEs throughout <strong>the</strong> whole <strong>of</strong> Europe.› There are significant difficulties due to <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> preventiveservice providers is far too limited to meet <strong>the</strong> demand in some countries.› Practically all MS have problems with <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> external services. One <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> most important reasons for this is <strong>the</strong> tendency on <strong>the</strong> part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>enterprises to try to purchase <strong>the</strong>se services as cheaply as possible.› It appears that <strong>the</strong> existing protective and preventive services have a reducedcapacity to deal in a holistic approach with <strong>the</strong> occupational risks.48 Commission Communication on <strong>the</strong> Practical implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> provisions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>Health and Safety at Work Directives 89/391 (Framework), 89/654 (Workplaces), 89/655(Work Equipment), 89/656 (Personal Protective Equipment), 90/269 (Manual handling <strong>of</strong>Loads) and 90/2720 (Display Screen Equipment), COM(2004) 62 final, Brussels, 5February 2004.http://projects.cowiportal.com/ps/A019055/Documents/3 Project documents/Interim and final report/Final report October 2012/OSH <strong>evaluation</strong>report_Final_submitted14 March 2013.docx
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