Studies & Surveys

The new Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) will finally come into force on 29 December 2009. It introduces new obligations and changes by comparison with the consolidated Directive 98/37/EC which the stakeholders must acquire. This new brochure – which is the result of work carried out by the KAN, ETUI-REHS and several European experts, and for which Eurogip co-financed publication of the French version – should help them. It underlines the differences between the 1998 document and the 2006 document, devoting special attention to Annex I concerning essential health and safety requirements.

On 8 November 2007, the Board of Directors of Eurogip unanimously adopted the strategic guidelines for the standardisation activity of the network of the Occupational Injuries and Diseases Branch of the Social Security system. These guidelines involve, in particular, creating work tools and procedures designed to better choose between and manage the subjects and levels of work performed by the network’s experts, to strengthen monitoring and reporting activity, and to define the conditions and limits of funding for this activity.

The 89/391/EEC directive stipulates that employers must evaluate risks to the safety and health of workers. The thematic report by Eurogip considers the types of risks to be assessed, the players involved in assessment, formalisation of the assessment, the link between assessment and preventive action plan, the frequency of the procedure, and sanctions for an assessment failing.

How is biological risk at work approached in Europe? What scale? What prevention? The new Eurogip survey reviews these questions on the basis of a bibliographic study and answers to the questionnaire sent to the competent organisations in the various European countries.
Only in French

The report, produced by a working group of the European Forum of Insurances against accidents at work and occupational diseases and coordinated by Eurogip, sheds light on current insurance practices in thirteen countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland.

Most European countries are faced with the problem of asbestos-related occupational diseases. What are the diseases giving entitlement to compensation? According to whatcriteria are they recognised? How many cases are actually recognised and what are the trends since 1980? How are the victims compensated?

To all these questions the recently published EUROGIP report on “Asbestos-related occupational diseases in Europe” provides answers. This document also reviews estimates of mortality due to mesothelioma in Europe over the coming years. Although dramatic, the consequences will apparently be less catastrophic than predicted by Peto in 1999, since there would be 100,000 deaths from mesothelioma (as opposed to a projected figure of 250,000).

Eurogip publishes the results of a survey on the conditions of compensation of occupational injury and disease victims in 14 European countries.
Only in French

This survey covers Switzerland and the 15 European Union Member States except Greece and the Netherlands. Even though everywhere in Europe, the occupational injuries insurance has been built on the fringe of the civil liability law, the levels of benefits are far from being homogenous in all countries and the concept of employer’s liability changed quite a lot on some of them.

This document appears at the right time. Just when the social partners are entering into interprofessional negotiations on the employment of senior citizens and painful working conditions, Eurogip publishes the proceedings of the European conference held by it on the theme of “Ageing and occupational risks – How to promote workers’ health throughout their working lives?”
Only in French