Agency launches online safety and health guide for Europe’s small and medium businesses
News release - 01.10.2003
The European Agency has launched a new online guide of occupational safety and health advice for Europe’s 19 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The European Agency has launched a new online guide of occupational safety and health advice for Europe’s 19 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
According to European research, the fatal accident rate in enterprises with fewer than 50 workers is around double that of larger companies. And with more than 75 million EU workers employed in the SME sector, preventing work-related accidents and ill health in SMEs is one of the EU’s most pressing safety and health issues.
As well as presenting information on the Agency’s own activities such as its SME funding schemes and information projects, the web feature at http://sme.osha.europa.eu/ provides access to a wide range of practical information. This covers key risks such as accidents, dangerous substances (the focus of this October’s European Week for Safety and Health at Work campaign) and work-related stress, as well as important SME employment sectors such as construction and fisheries.
In addition to the web feature, a new CD-ROM provides details of more than 50 innovative accident prevention projects supported by Agency’s first SME funding scheme. Promoting health and safety in Europe’s SMEs is published in five languages (DE, EN, ES, FR and IT) and reports on a scheme, which an independent evaluation concluded has benefited more than 500,000 SMEs. The CD-ROM and web feature will help even more companies learn about the many innovative ideas for the information, training and exchange of good practice in the field.
The new web feature was unveiled on Wednesday 1 October 2003 at an international conference in Rome on occupational safety and health in SMEs jointly organised by the Italian Presidency of the EU and the Agency. Speaking at the launch, Agency Director, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, commented: ‘SMEs employ two out of every three workers in the EU, but many have difficulties managing their safety and health obligations due to a lack of knowledge and resources. The Agency’s web feature will help bridge this gap by allowing Europe’s SMEs to get access to safety and health information, which is up-to-date and practical. We hope that it will contribute to improved safety and health performance across the sector.’
ENDS
Further information: please refer to the Agency website at http://agency.osha.europa.eu.
Press contacts:
Eke Heetveld or Brenda O’ Brien, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Bilbao. Tel: (34) 94 479 43 86 or (34) 94 479 35 41 e-mail: heetveld@osha.europa.eu or obrien@osha.europa.eu .
Other enquiries:
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain, e-mail: information@osha.europa.eu , fax: (34) 94 479 43 83.
Notes to editors
- In line with the Commission recommendation, and for the purpose of the SME schemes, SMEs are defined as enterprises, which have fewer than 250 workers. Small firms are defined as enterprises, which have fewer than 50 workers. Micro firms are defined as enterprises, which have fewer than 10 workers.
- SME Funding Schemes: Europe's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employ more than 65% of the EU's workforce and account for over 99% of the EU's 18 million enterprises, outside the agricultural sector. However, due to a lack of financial and organisational resources, many SMEs have only limited occupational health and safety knowledge and capacity. In 2001, the Agency awarded grants for 51 National and Transnational/European projects aimed at reducing the number and seriousness of accidents in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The second SME Funding Scheme (2002-2003) is currently up and running, with projects due for completion in the Autumn. Applications for the third scheme (2003-2004) are being processed, details of which will be available on the Agency website
- Promoting safety and health in Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises is available in five languages (DE, EN, ES, FR, IT) as a CD-ROM or online at http://agency.osha.europa.eu/publications/reports/105/en/index.htm and in print in English.
- The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was set up by the European Union to help meet the information needs in the field of occupational safety and health. Based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency aims to improve the lives of people at work by stimulating the flow of technical, scientific and economic information between all those involved in occupational safety and health issues.
