Fit For Work Europe: Msds

The EU Framework Towards a more integrated management of MSDs at work Fit for Work Brussels, 30 September 2009 Antonio Cammarota European Commission, DG EMPL/F4 "Health, Safety and Hygiene at Work"

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Recent EU Initiatives on Ergonomics and WRMSDs SLIC “Manual Handling of Loads” Campaign 2007-2008 EU-OSHA “Lighten the Load” Campaign 2007 Initiatives at sector social dialogue level (telecommuniations, agriculture) Commission initiative in the framework of the legislative simplification exercise

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The Commission’s Legislative Initiative Outline the context Summarise the current state of discussion Current consultation process What next? 3

CONTEXT Commission Communication COM(2002) 118 final – "Adapting to change in work and society: a new Community strategy on health and safety at work 2002-2006“ Commission Communication COM(2007) 62 final – “Improving quality and productivity at work: Community strategy 20072012 on health and safety at work"

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BACKGROUND WRMSDs: one of the major OSH problems in Europe – Account for 53% of all work-related diseases in the EU-15 – The most often work-related health problem resulting in lost days and permanent incapacity to work 49.9% of all more than 3 days absences from work 49.2% of all 2 weeks or more absences about 60% of all reported cases of permanent incapacity (source: 1999 LFS "Ad hoc module on accidents at work and work-related health problems", Eurostat) 5

BACKGROUND WRMSDs: a major cost burden for industry and society – Available cost estimates of MSDs put the cost at between 0.5% and 2% of GDP – MSD responsible for up to 40%-50% of the costs of all work-related health issues – With ageing EU active population, prevalence rate of WRMSDs among older workers may result in increasing costs 6

BACKGROUND WRMSDs are on the increase in the EU Some reference data (EU-27) (source: Fourth European Survey on Working Conditions, 2006, European Foundation Dublin)

 Occurrence of exposure to risk factors: ergonomic risks are the most commonly reported risk at work Repetitive hand or arm movements (62.3%) Tiring or painful positions (45.5%) Heavy loads (35%) Vibrations (24.2%)

 Perceived work-related health problems: WRMSDs are the most often reported workrelated health symptoms Backache (24.7%) Muscular pains (22.8%)

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The EU Legal Framework At present, no specific legal provision aiming at WRMSDs at large However several European directives apply, either directly or indirectly, to MSDs and their prevention, in particular: –

Council Directive 89/391/EEC (Framework Directive)

– Council Directive 90/270/EEC (work with display screen equipment) – Council Directive 90/269/EEC (manual handling of loads) – Council Directive 2002/44/EC (vibration)

The current regulatory framework does not cover all types of work situations or address all risk factors leading to WRMSDs! 8

CONTEXT 2004: First-stage consultation of the European social partners under Article 138(2) of the EC-Treaty 2007: Second-stage consultation of the European social partners under Article 138(3) of the EC-Treaty

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CONTEXT Results of the two-stage consultation Employers not in favour of new legislation – A single text covering all types of WRMSDs would be unrealistic because of their multifactoral nature – WRMSDs already largely covered by the current EU legal framework – Emphasis to be put on more effective implementation of the existing legislation

Workers in favour of new legislation – Advocate a limit-value-approach – Psychosocial aspects to be considered – Support global approach (regulatory and non-regulatory) 10

Socio-economic impact assessment Preliminary results (study tendered by the Commission in 2007)  Qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of the potential effects of 6 main policy options: 1) Status quo, no EU actions; 2) Non-binding initiatives; 3) Technical update of MSD-legislation; 4) Technical update of MSD-legislation plus non-binding initiatives; 5) Simplifying MSD-legislation taking account of all risk factors and incorporating existing specific legislation; 6) Simplifying MSD-legislation plus non-binding initiatives. 11

Socio-economic impact assessment Preliminary results (study tendered by the Commission in 2007) – Policy option 6 (simplifying MSD-legislation plus non-binding initiatives) the option with the highest impact on indicators at national, sector, company and individual level At national level, impacts on 1) national legislation, 2) labour inspectorate activities, and 3) national campaigns / prevention strategies. At sector level, impacts on 1) sector campaigns, 2) dissemination of good practices, and 3) sector agreements. At company level, impacts on 1) awareness, 2) risk assessment, 3) training / preventive actions, and 4) compensation costs. At individual level, impacts on 1) knowledge, 2) risk exposure, 3) symptoms, and 4) sickness absence. 12

The current state of discussion The development of a new legislative initiative Simplification initiative:  Proposal for a new individual directive addressing all significant risk factors in all workplaces and incorporating existing directives 90/269 and 90/270 included in the CLWP 2009  Make legislation easier to apply (reduced number of reference texts Less burdensome (simplified administrative and technical obligtions)  More effective (easier to implement and enforce)

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The current state of discussion The development of a new legislative initiative Main assets: – Provide a comprehensive definition of WRMSDs and work-related risk factors (bio-mechanical, working environment and workstation layout, organisation of work) – Provide a methodological platform for carrying out risk assessment and setting up, where necessary, a coherent ergonomic prevention programme 14

Next steps Consultation process (ACSH, technical working group of national experts) Timeline for the Commission’s proposal: – Socio-economic impact assessment report to be submitted to the Impact Assessment Board in December 2009 / January 2010.

– Adoption of the proposal by the College: First half of 2010

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Ladies and Gentlemen Thank you for your attention

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