28 questions to former EU-OSHA Director
OSH policy & strategies
1. Do you believe the current Community strategy on OSH 2007-2012 responds to the real needs and priorities of the European Union in terms of occupational safety and health? |
2. Does the Agency have its own strategy to respond to the demands of the Community strategy and to make it a reality? |
3. Is the Agency actually an irreplaceable body in the OSH panorama? Which added value does the Agency contribute? |
4. Does the Agency maintain regular and sufficient links to other OSH international and global organisations, beyond the European Union? |
5. Do you believe that exchange of good practices among Member States may really help increase OSH standards and reduce bad figures? |
6. What is the main contribution of the European Risk Observatory of the Agency? Is it really possible to anticipate emerging and new risks and plan prevention accordingly? |
7. Which is the purpose of the European Survey of Enterprises on new and emerging risks? |
European Information Campaigns
8. Do you believe that awareness-raising campaigns can contribute to an improvement of working conditions? |
9. How does the Agency select the topics for its campaigns in order to be successful? |
10. Is risk assessment still a gap at workplace level and do you really think it is the cornerstone of good safety and health at work? |
11. "Safe maintenance" is the topic of the campaign in 2010 and 2011. How can you explain why safe maintenance is so important? |
Evolution of occupational safety and health
12. Has risk prevention improved over the last ten years? Are the workplaces nowadays in the European Union safer and healthier? |
13. Which are today the major problems in the field of health and safety at work? And which are the challenges for the future? |
Statistics – registration – official data
14. Are statistics on work-related accidents comparable among Member States in the European Union? Is harmonization feasible |
15. Do the official figures of occupational diseases show only the tip of the iceberg, while real figures are much higher |
16. The list of recognised occupational diseases seems to be limited and inclusion of new diseases difficult and slow. Why does this happen? |
17. Do you see any differences between the newer and old Member States of the EU in OSH performance? |
Economics aspects of safety and health at work
18. Is risk prevention expensive or could it be a real investment? |
19. Are economic incentives the best and the only solution to encourage companies to make occupational risks prevention a reality? |
20. In a difficult economic situation, such as the current one, do you still think that occupational safety and health will remain a priority for the companies? |
Hot topics - permanent problems
21. What does the Agency propose to increase the involvement of SMEs and compliance with OSH management? |
22. Do you believe globalisation contributes to a deterioration of working conditions in the European Union? |
23. Although some improvements have taken place, ‘high-risk’ sectors still remain the same. What can be done? |
24. What does the Agency propose to provide extra support and protection to the more vulnerable workers? |
Personal profile and points of view
25. Why did you decide to change your long and successful career in the ILO and move to Bilbao to lead the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work? |
26. How would you define the famous “risk prevention culture”? Is it really the cornerstone of occupational safety and health? |
| > | 27. Which is the key to occupational safety and health: legislation, enforcement, information, training, financial support, tripartite approach? |
28. How do you relax in you spare time and how do you protect your safety and health? |
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