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Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Econoic and Social Committee and the Committee of the regions – 28.6.2021

The text of the European Commission sets out an EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at work for the next 6 years. Considering the results of the evaluation of the previous strategy (2007-2012), it identifies three challenges to be met:

• Improve implementation of existing health and safety rules in the Member States, in particular by enhancing the capacity of micro and small enterprises to put in place effective and efficient risk prevention strategies,
• Improve the prevention of work-related diseases by tackling new and emerging risks without neglecting existing risks,
• Take account of the ageing of the EU’s workforce.

The Commission proposes to meet these three challenges by developing a series of actions grouped under seven big strategic objectives:

• Further consolidate national strategies,
• Facilitate compliance with OSH legislation, particularly by micro and small enterprises,
• Better enforce OSH legislation in the Member States,
• Simplify existing legislation,
• Address the ageing of the workforce and emerging new risks, prevent work-related and occupational diseases,
• Improve statistical data collection and develop the information base,
• Better coordinate EU and international efforts to address OSH and engage with international organisations.

The European Commission has produced a guide for labour inspectors on the interactions between the REACH Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006, the chemical substances directive and the directive on substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic to reproduction (CMR).

These three documents all lay down requirements for the use of hazardous chemical substances at work, and employers will now face two series of obligations. Although the REACH Regulation and the two directives mentioned above should supplement one another, their requirements overlap to some extent, and this could lead to inconsistencies in their application.

This document, prepared by the CHEMEX working group of the SLIC (Senior Labour Inspectors’ Committee), aims to provide EU labour inspectors with a useful instrument to help them in practical application of the regulations by providing them with guidelines on the requirements of the REACH Regulation and the interfaces with application of the requirements laid down by the chemical substances and CMR directives.

Directive 2013/35/EU replaces Directive 2004/40/EC of 29 April 2004 whose transposition had been delayed due to implementation difficulties in the medical community. The new directive lays down new exposure limit values (ELVs) and new values for the action levels (ALs).

The overall objective of the evaluation was to provide a sound and evidence-based  evaluation of the 2007-2012 EU strategy on safety and health at work and to  provide reasoned recommendations for the development of future EU policy  instruments in this area (e.g. a new post-2012 strategy).

The main conclusion in respect to the relevance of the current strategy is that it has  been relevant and its merits have especially been in providing a clear policy basis  and framework for coordination, and a common sense of direction for many of the  actors involved in the OSH policy area. The strategy served as an important policy  signal and driver for national action on OSH and also facilitated useful  coordination in respect to public health initiatives. However, there remains room  for improvement in the integration and coordination between OSH and other policy  areas and between the various actors involved at the EU level. In particular,  coordination with environmental policy and the important area of the REACH  regulation on chemicals and their safe use has been inadequate. Also, the  articulation between the strategy implementation and the European social dialogue  has been limited and European social partners have felt a limited degree of  ownership towards the strategy and have mainly implemented those parts of the  strategy which they would have implemented in any case.

The Regulation aims at improving the European standardisation system. Since 1st January 2013, the European standardisation bodies (CEN, CENELEC, etc.) have been entitled to develop standards for services and not only for products as it was so far the case. The SMEs, consumers, trade unions and environmental organisations will be represented and entitled to participate in the European standardisation bodies.

The main focus of this guide is to present up-to-date technical and scientific knowledge regarding the prevention of the most significant risks in healthcare, especially biological, musculoskeletal, psychosocial and chemical risks, and to support the implementation of the relevant European Union directives in force. Practical instruments to support employers in identifying the risks for the health and safety of their employees and to guide the implementation of preventive measures in their healthcares facilities are outlined and clarified.

The exposure of workers to asbestos dust or materials containing asbestos poses risks to their health. This directive establishes protection and prevention rules intended to limit these risks. It is a codified version.