On Wenesday 9 March 2022, a large majority of Members of the European Parliament adopted recommendations for a more ambitious new EU strategic framework for health and safety at work 2021-2027. This initiative report is the European Parliament’s reaction to the strategy for health and safety at work presented by the European Commission last June.
This text is in line with the work already done by the European Parliament to preserve health at work: the Trillet-Lenoir report for a European strategy to beat cancer, the Villumsen report to strengthen the protection of workers against asbestos, the Brunet report on platform workers and the Agius Saliba report on the right to disconnect.
Véronique Trillet-Lenoir, shadow rapporteur for the Renew Europe group, insisted on placing prevention and the fight against health inequalities at the heart of this text by calling on the Commission to strengthen its strategy:
- Against cancer, by strengthening protection against hazardous substances, such as asbestos, but also against risky practices such as nightshift work for women;
- Against discriminations, by improving consideration of the needs of workers with disabilities, with illness or after illness, and by combating gender-based violence;
- To ensure better preparedness for future health crises, taking into account the lessons learned from the pandemic and its consequences on workers;
- To develop prevention at work, because beyond mitigating risks, workplaces represent a privileged area of action for health promotion.
Véronique Trillet-Lenoir: "The adoption of this report confirms the European Parliament's commitment to an ambitious health Union, focusing on the fight against inequalities by advocating that every European worker, regardless of his or her Member State of origin or workplace, be better protected.”
