29/01/2010
The European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) rejected, on 18 January, the European Commission's deregulation proposals in the field of health and safety at work.

The trade union organisation denounces in the harshest terms any proposal to allow exemptions to certain occupational safety and health obligations or to exempt certain categories of undertakings from such obligations.

"Exemptions to certain occupational health and safety obligations [...] would lead to a higher incidence of accidents and higher risk of diseases, not only adding to human suffering but also increasing the resulting costs", it states in a position paper.

The trade union federation is particularly concerned about the Commission's proposal to exempt small firms in certain sectors from the obligation of drawing up a risk assessment document.

The federation notes that 39% of fatal accidents due to falls occur in enterprises with fewer than ten workers, with the construction sector accounting for 36% of this type of accident. Other health risks are also particularly high in this industry.

The Commission's proposals, presented in a Communication dated 22 October 2009, are based on an opinion submitted on 28 May 2009 by a high level group charged with advising the EU executive in the context of its "Better Regulation" campaign.

Chaired by German Conservative Edmund Stoiber, this group considers that nearly 90% of the time spent by employers collecting and processing health and safety information constitutes an administrative burden for enterprises. This opinion incorporates as such calculations made by a consortium of private consultants steered by Deloitte. This consortium was paid €17 million from the Commission for its work, as acknowledged by Industry Commissioner, Günther Verheugen.

• The EFBWW's position