04/08/2008
The European Trade Union Confederation has criticized the European Commission’s U-turn on substances that are toxic for reproduction (reprotoxins). They should have been brought into the Directive that protects workers from carcinogens and mutagens, which is currently up for revision. The Commission has suddenly changed tack and is not now proposing to include them.

What particularly baffles the trade union body is that the Commission has previously come out expressly in favour of extending the Carcinogens Directive to reprotoxins.

In a note sent to European Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla on 31 July 2008, the ETUC describes it as “a purely political decision that sacrifices the health of workers and future generations to the interests of some sections of industry”.

The union confederation takes issue with the technicalities put forward orally by the Commission to justify the about-turn. The Commission argues that the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive already covers the risks from occupational exposure to reprotoxins. The ETUC says this is wrong, and points out that two-thirds of the 173 chemicals classified as reprotoxic under Community law are not recognized as either carcinogenic or mutagenic. This is singularly so with lead and phthalates, two substances that are highly toxic for reproduction but are not within the Carcinogens Directive.

The ETUC wants the forthcoming economic impact assessment of the Carcinogens Directive revision to include a scenario extending it to reprotoxins so that the door is not slammed on them once for all. For this scenario not to be included would play into the Commission’s final decision, which will no doubt be taken by a new body of Commissioners after the June 2009 European elections.

• European Trade Union Confederation note