Home page > News> A Belgian trade union criticizes MEPs refusal to include crystalline silica in the revised directive on carcinogens
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A Belgian trade union criticizes MEPs refusal to include crystalline silica in the revised directive on carcinogens
06/02/2008
In January 2008, the European deputies, led by Conservatives and Liberals, refused to include crystalline silica on the list of substances currently under review in the directive on workers' protection against carcinogens. The Confederation of manual workers affiliated to the Belgian union FGTB criticized the decision. Workers' delegates from the glass industry have asked the European Commission for its support in protecting workers against crystalline silica which has been listed as carcinogens by the International Agency on Research on Cancer and WHO. According to the FGTB, efficient protection of millions of European workers exposed to silica on a daily basis requires that this harmful substance falls under the scope of the European law. In Europe, up to 4 million workers are exposed to crystalline silica dusts at the workplace. With such high statistics, the FGTB believes this harmful substance shopuld definitly fall under the scope of the European law.
On 25 April 2006, when European chemical and metallurgical industry unions struck a deal with the employers on protecting the health of workers exposed to crystalline silica dust, the European building workers’ union refused to join the negotiations or sign the autonomous agreement. Therefore, it does not cover all workers exposed to crystalline silica dust. The ETUC has asked the Commission to implement legislation on crystalline silica to ensure that the principle of equivalent protection for all EU workers provided for in the framework directive 89/391 is carried out.
