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UK News - Breaking news in the field of health and safety
Leading construction bodies commit to improving industry ...
Leading construction bodies commit to improving industry health and safety standards
The Dutch Presidency of the European Union and 6 of the top representative bodies in Europe’s construction industry have signed the Bilbao Declaration, a document committing them to specific measures to improve the sector’s safety and health standards. It is hoped that this and similar initiatives can begin to make inroads into the annual 1,200 fatal and over 800,000 '3-day' accidents (pre-enlargement EU figures) out of 12,000,000 construction workers. Apart from the pain and suffering, these losses amount to an estimated €75 billion a year (€200 per person). The Declaration was signed this week at the European Construction Safety Summit, organised jointly by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the Dutch Presidency of the EU. The signatories are:
European Construction Industry Federation;
European Federation of Building and Wood Workers;
European Builders’ Confederation;
European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations;
Architects’ Council of Europe; and
European Council of Civil Engineers.
The Declaration sets out 5 key actions:
Integrate health and safety standards into procurement policies, supported by guidelines for purchasing goods and services; Ensure safety and health is taken into account at the design and planning stages of construction projects; Use site inspections and other techniques to encourage more businesses to comply with safety and health legislation; Develop guidelines to help businesses comply with this legislation, especially small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); Stimulate higher standards of safety and health via social dialogue and agreements on training, accident reduction targets and other issues. “The European Construction Safety Summit clarified the strategy and actions needed to improve safety and health standards within the construction industry; the Bilbao Declaration provides the commitment required to make this strategy a reality. As a result of this Declaration, we expect to see significant improvements in safety and health standards throughout Europe’s construction industry and commensurately lower costs, both human and financial. This will be in everyone’s interests – businesses, workers and clients.” - Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
