A group of experts set up by the Commission to push its so-called “better regulation” drive to deregulate proposed on 28 May that small firms should no longer have to produce a written risk assessment. “Any such proposal would seriously undermine the systematic management of health and safety in small firms”, argued the Director of the ETUI’s Health and Safety Department, Laurent Vogel.   Read more 

Clothing meant to protect against liquid splashes and spray wetting does not work, reveals Santé & Travail. The magazine has had sight of a French Labour Ministry memo that unveils the findings of tests done on ten models. It is a damning report: of ten models tested from six different manufacturers, nine do not meet the requirements of the European Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directive.   The Santé & Travail press release (in French)

On 9 June, the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association (HOSPEEM) announced the signing of a European agreement, which is set to prevent over 1 million medical sharps injuries a year for healthcare workers.
Welcoming the agreement, the President of EPSU’s Health Committee, Karen Jennings, stated that, “this represents tremendous progress for the European hospital social dialogue process, but most importantly it makes a clear and positive contribution to the working lives of Europe’s healthcare workers”.  Read more 

The CGT’s Education, Research and Culture Federation set a campaign against work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) rolling at the end of May. The union will be sending out a postcard-petition calling for “the adoption of an ambitious and coherent European directive to prevent MSDs”.   Read more 

The coastal city of Nahariya, in northern Israel, has one of the highest incidences of asbestos-related mesothelioma in the world. In mid-June, the Director of the Israeli Health Ministry’s cancer registry, reported that the incidence of mesothelioma in Nahariya and environs reached 5.72 per 100,000 residents between 2002 and 2008. By comparison, the highest rate of mesothelioma in the world is in Genoa, Italy, with 5.8 cases for every 100,000 persons, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.  Read more