GETTING involved
You should get involved in the European Week 2003 because you could:
- increase safety and health awareness among employees and managers to make your workplace a safer and healthier place to be;
- demonstrate that good safety and health is good business;
- help to reduce the risks of working with dangerous substances — protecting health and saving time and money;
- contribute to cutting the human and economic costs of failing to handle dangerous substances with care.
A wide range of activities
The last three European Weeks have seen thousands of activities organised across Europe. They promoted the importance of preventive measures to tackle the problems of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, accidents and stress. Many organisations worked in partnership to carry out joint activities. We want this year’s Week to be bigger still, involving even more organisations, companies and individuals.
There is no set formula for European Week activities — they can range from the simple to the ambitious. You can think about raising the profile of dangerous substances in your existing health and safety activities or you could arrange special initiatives. Activities could include:
- special risk identification and assessment activities, health and safety audits in the workplace etc.;
- training seminars or workshops;
- workplace safety and health exhibitions;
- information material aimed at raising awareness of these issues in the workplace;
- ‘good neighbour’ schemes encouraging larger companies to support smaller ones;
- competitions or suggestion schemes to develop and exchange good practice;
- encouraging the participation of workers and/or their representatives;
- launching a new workplace policy or prevention initiative during the Week.
- workplace health promotion activities.
Rewarding good practice
As part of the Week, the Agency is also running a good practice award scheme to recognise companies or organisations which have made outstanding and innovative contributions to the prevention of risks from dangerous substances at work. The awards will be presented in November, in Bilbao (Spain) at the closing ceremony of this year’s European Week. Details of the award scheme and how to enter are available from your national contact point as well as from the Agency website (see below).
WHERE do you find out more about the Week? Who do you contact?
For general information about the Week:
Visit the European Week website at http://osha.europa.eu/ew2003/. As well as providing up-to-date information on the European Week campaign, it gives you easy access to a wealth of occupational safety and health information on the European Agency’s main site (http://osha.europa.eu/).
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
Gran Vía 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain
Tel.: +34 944 794 360 - Fax: +34 944 794 383 E-mail: information@osha.europa.eu
For details of what’s happening in your country:
To receive an information pack, please contact the Agency’s network partner responsible for organising the European Week in your country:
IRELAND
Name: Elaine Lawless
Address: Health and Safety Authority
10, Hogan Place
Dublin 2
Tel: + 353 1 614 71 22 - Fax: + 353 1 614 71 25
E-mail: elainel@hsa.ie
URL: http://ie.osha.europa.eu
UNITED KINGDOM
Name: UK Focal Point
Address: Health and Safety Executive
Room 318, Daniel House
Bootle,
Merseyside L20 3TW
Tel: + 44 (0) 151 951 3191/3355 - Fax: + 44 (0) 151 951 3467
E-mail: uk.focalpoint@hse.gsi.gov.uk
More information about the European Agency and the European Week 2003 can be found at:
