28/09/2007
Occupational diseases are "severely under-estimated" in France, according to a study by the National Institute of Demographic Studies (Ined) published on 20 September.
"Occupational diseases are negotiated illnesses. Since the 1920s, their definition has been a topic of constant controversy between employers and trades unions (...) Official reports recognize that the incidence of occupational disease is severely under-estimated under the current system", claims the Ined study.
The first factor in under-estimation is "under-reporting": "As occupational physicians are paid by the employer, employees are reluctant to consult them for problems that might justify a certificate of unfitness for work and subsequent dismissal".
But "a direct arrangement" may also be involved: "the employee does not report his/her illness as an occupational disease and is covered by the standard social security health insurance, so the employer avoids paying higher contributions to the social security’s occupational injuries and diseases branch. In return, the employee receives a range of perks and benefits".
"Under-reporting" is compounded by "under-recognition" which “for mesothelioma and pleural cancers (asbestos-related diseases), for example, varies in a range of one to twelve between regional sickness insurance funds. Almost 70% of all occupational diseases are thus thought to be "invisible", opines the study.
