European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2004

 

 

Higher safety and health standards in Europe’s construction industry could save up to 1,300 lives each year and avoid 850,000 serious injuries, according to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work at today’s launch of its major campaign.  

 

Cutting the sector’s high incidence of accidents and work-related illnesses could also save the EU up to €75 billion a year, claims the Agency.  

 

The ‘Building in Safety’ campaign, which will culminate in the annual European Week for Safety and Health at Work (18-22 October 2004), will highlight the health and safety risks in Europe’s construction industry, as well as the solutions, in more than 30 countries throughout the continent, making it the largest ever campaign of its kind.  

 

Speaking at the launch in Dublin, Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament, said: ‘Construction is one of the EU’s most important industries, employing over 12 million people and worth over €900 billion a year. Yet it has one of the worst safety and health records: its accident rate, for example, is twice as high as the EU industry average. The incidence of back pain and other musculoskeletal problems, exposure to hazardous substances and many other risks are also significantly above the average. These problems need to be urgently addressed, not just to alleviate the very real human suffering, but also to reduce the financial burden on businesses and society.’ 

 

Bertie Ahern, Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland, which holds the EU Presidency, added: “Tackling this issue is not just the responsibility of construction firms; it is the duty of everyone with a stake in the sector, including architects, planners, engineers and others. Many accidents on building sites are due to decisions taken before any building work starts. As a result, the only way forward – as with so many other health and safety issues – is through partnerships. We have to work together and the Agency’s Building in Safety campaign epitomises this approach – with the full commitment of the EU Presidency, Parliament, Commission and Europe’s social partners.” 

 

EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner David Byrne said: "Our health is our wealth. By placing the safety of construction workers at the heart of this European Construction week we can improve health, reduce costs and strengthen competitiveness. Through effective social partnership we can work to deliver health, employment and prosperity. I am convinced that the European Week on Construction 2004 could be the most prolific yet in terms of contributing to implementation of the Community Strategy on health and safety at Work 2002-2006 and could set the benchmark for future ‘European Weeks’." 

 

The campaign, which will be underpinned by a range of printed and online information, including examples of good practice, will be supported by thousands of events in 31 European countries, including Member States, as well as acceding, candidate and EFTA countries. Coordinated by the Agency’s network of national focal points, events will range from training initiatives and promotional campaigns to seminars and workshops. In addition, businesses and organisations involved in the construction industry will be invited to sign an online campaign charter to demonstrate their commitment to higher OSH standards in the industry. Full details can be found at the Agency’s special European week 2004 website ( http://ew2004.osha.europa.eu).  

 

‘Our goal is not only to raise awareness of the risks, especially among small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for more than 80% of workers in construction, but also provide the tools to improve standards,’ said Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, the Agency’s Director. ‘This includes guides and checklists for risk assessment and examples of good practice solutions all freely available from our website. The situation won’t change overnight, but I’m confident we can make a significant impact, provided we have everyone’s commitment. Signing up to our online campaign charter is the first step to displaying such commitment.’ 

 

European Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner, David Byrne, was also present at the launch. And both sides of the industry were represented by the European social partners, Ulrich Paetzold, Director of the European Construction Industry Federation, and Harrie Bijen, General Secretary of the European Federation of Building and Wood Workers. 

 

Press contacts : 

Bilbao: 

Francoise Murillo, email: murillo@osha.europa.eu European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Tel: +34 94 479 57 48 or Alun Jones, email: jones@osha.europa.eu, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Tel: +34 94 479 4377. 

Dublin: 

Andrew Smith, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Tel (GSM): +34 609 612 941 

Brenda O’Brien, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Tel (GSM): +34 629 644 244 

 

Other enquiries: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain, email: information@osha.europa.eu, fax: +34 94 479 4383. 

 

1.A photo call and press conference will be held at Croke Park Stadium, Dublin at 11.00 (photo call) and 11.30 (press conference) on 30 April 2004.  

2.Photographs of the campaign launch will be available from the Agency website at http://ew2004.osha.europa.eu/news/press_releases/ from 1530hrs (GMT+1) on 30 April 2004. 

3.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.  

4.The European Week for Safety and Health at Work which will take place on 18-22 October 2004 is an information campaign designed to raise awareness and promote activities to make Europe a safe and healthy place to work. It is coordinated by the European Agency and will be run in the Member States, accession, EFTA and candidate countries. The Week is aimed at the workplace and all safety and health institutions and organisations, trade unions, companies, managers, employees and safety representatives are invited to take part and organise their own activities. These can include special audits and risk assessment activities in the workplace, organising training, distributing information material, launching a new workplace policy, suggestion schemes, encouraging participation of employees and their representatives or linking-up with other organisations, businesses or sub contractors to carry out activities in partnership. The slogan of EW2004 is ‘Building in Safety’. 

5.The statistics quoted in this news release came from Eurostat, and national occupational health and safety authorities.