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In a report adopted in a plenary meeting last February, the European Committee of the Regions states its opinion on the EU strategic framework in the area of occupational safety and health for the period 2014-2020.
The Committee of the Regions:
- regrets the lack of local government involvement in the European Commission’s strategy and asks the latter to ensure their formal participation in implementing the commitments made, recognizing them as essential institutional players, notably due to their capacity as major job providers;
- emphasizes that because of their partnerships and ties with local enterprises, local governments can play an important role in integrating regulations, promoting a “safety culture”, correct application of risk prevention standards, and in supporting activities for the collective defence and illustration of safety;
- proposes setting up a central European steering committee in charge of defining, coordinating and developing measures in the area of occupational safety and health (it would be advisable for this to be coordinated by EU-OSHA), in particular to play more efficiently a proactive role of reference, guidance and control within the framework of application of the EU legislation by the Member States;
- vigorously supports the financing of measures as of 2014 and asks that provision be made for forms of ad hoc support for projects presented by local and regional governments, especially those which represent regions in which the public health system’s coverage is not efficient or which face demographic challenges;
- proposes encouraging the exchange of good practices between regional and local authorities active in this area;
- agrees on the need to evaluate, in cooperation with the Member States, the Senior Labour Inspectors’ Committee (SLIC) and the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work (ACSHW), the effectiveness of the sanctions and administrative penalties applied, and of the traditional methods of control, provided that the public sector be able to take part in these bodies.
Read EUROGIP note about EU Strategic Framework
