EFBWW Trade Union Guide on Using Asbestos Registries

Transcription

1 EFBWW Trade Union Guide on Using Asbestos Registries Project Description Summary Call for Proposals VP/2016/002 Budget heading Information and training measures for workers organisations Brussels, May 2016 Stephen Schindler

2 CONTENT: 1. Introduction 2. Goals of the project 3. Links with the objectives and priorities of the budget heading 1. Introduction Despite the ban on its production and use in the EU, asbestos continues to pose a significant health threat to this day. This is particularly the case for workers in the construction sector. With an estimated 47,000 annual asbestos-related deaths in Europe alone, the substance takes a greater toll on human life than traffic-related deaths (25,000-30,000 a year). Yet public awareness is dwindling and knowledge about the dangers of asbestos is fading away as older workers retire and a new generation with little experience of the dangers of the substance take their place. Considering the relatively low rate of asbestos removal in the EU today, it is evident that the existing asbestos stock will continue to claim a significant number of lives for decades to come. The EU established a legal basis for the protection of workers in EU directive 2009/148/EC against risks to their health, including the prevention of such risks, arising or likely to arise from exposure to asbestos at work. However, the EFBWW recognized that the transposition in many Member States is insufficient. Whereas, the directive clearly states that before beginning demolition or maintenance work, employers shall take, if appropriate by obtaining information from the owners of the premises, all necessary steps to identify presumed asbestos-containing materials, this obligation is often insufficiently applied in Member States or limited to workers in specialised asbestos removal companies while e.g. roofers, painters or electricians are often not covered by these precautions and remain largely unprotected. This is further complicated by the fact that Identifying asbestos-containing products can be a tricky business. Sometimes they are easily detectable and located in plain sight, such as in the case of asbestos-cement roofs. All too often however they remain hidden in virtually every part of a building or structure, such as its flooring, windows, insulation and heating and cooling systems. This puts workers conducting maintenance, renovation or demolition at risk of exposure to asbestos fibres on a regular basis, yet they are often unaware of the dangers and in most countries lack the necessary awareness training and safety precautions.

3 In the past FIEC and the EFBWW have carried out joint social partner projects to design, produce and disseminate asbestos information modules and to raise awareness about the dangers of asbestos among workers. Awareness training is highly important as it is the only way for workers conducting maintenance, renovation or demolition tasks to identify potential sources of asbestos visually in order to protect themselves. Nonetheless, it is of utmost importance that building owners and employers consult existing registries for harmful substances, and make an assessment of harmful substances through sampling and lab analysis before commencing major works. This is necessary to protect workers and inhabitants as once released, asbestos fibres cannot be detected without technical equipment. Unfortunately, in practice this is not done consistently. Registries can be a cost efficient preventive measure where they exist, or even serve as an incentive to become eligible for public subsidies for the removal of e.g. asbestos. This is why the European Parliament resolution on asbestos related occupational health threats and prospects for abolishing all existing asbestos (2012/2065(INI)) calls on the Commission and Member States to develop, implement and support a model for asbestos screening and registration in accordance with Article 11 of Directive 2009/148/EC, and the European Economic and Social Committee proposed similar measures in its opinion on Freeing the EU from asbestos (CCMI/130). Many Member States already feature registries for harmful substance at different administrative levels (state, regional, or local; e.g. national asbestos registry in Poland, and local government project Hafenkante in Hamburg, Germany), and many providers offer expert services for the assessment and lab analysis of harmful substances in buildings. However, companies and trade union representatives often lack awareness of these instruments and knowledge of where to find this information and how to access it in accordance with the European Parliament Resolution suggesting to ensure that such information is available to workers who may disturb such materials. 2. Goals of the project In order to further develop trade union capacities to tackle health and safety threats in the construction sector the EFBWW will compile a guide on different asbestos registration models in Europe including practical information on how to access and use information and expert services. While previous social partner projects where designed as a last line of defense, the goal of the current project proposal is to enable trade unions in the construction sector to intervene at an early stage, before commencement of e.g. renovation-, maintenance- or demolition work, to identify harmful substances such as asbestos through existing resources such as registries for harmful substances and the services of experts.

4 Given the high workforce mobility in the construction sector within the internal market, the EFBWW sees a distinct added value in mapping systems of registration in Member States of the EU to enable trade union representatives to take the necessary steps to address this health and safety issue in companies and protect their colleagues from the risk of asbestos exposure. The target group of the project are workers representatives responsible for health and safety in construction companies including SMEs. The first tangible outcome of the project will be a guide to different registration models in the EU compiled by an expert during the first year of the project that will provide a comparative overview of existing registration models in all 28 Member States and include practical information on a) how to request/access information, b) how to identify and access relevant services e.g. expert assessment and lab analysis, c) information on legal obligations of employers and rights of employees, and d) promote Health and Safety at the work place. The second stage of the project will be dedicated to the practical application of the guide by workers representatives. Five regional seminars will be held to provide a practical introduction to the guide and exchange experience and best practice from different Member States to facilitate trade union capacity building at national level and in a cross border context. 3. Links with objectives and priorities of budget heading At the EFBWW we are convinced that improved working conditions and a better collaboration between employers and employees in general will provide more sustainable and quality workplaces and, in consequence, will improve the competitiveness of the EU-economy in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy and its flagship initiatives. Health and safety at work has always been a priority for the social partners in the construction sector and continues to be part of the EU Social Dialogue. The current project proposal is in line with previous projects and activities focusing on different aspects of dealing with asbestos. Through previous awareness and training initiatives it became apparent that workers representatives often lacked awareness of existing registries for harmful substances. The current project proposal intends to fill this gap and continue to develop the capacities of workers representatives to address health and safety issues. Given the high workforce mobility in the construction sector it is particularly important to exchange know how and best practices between practitioners at European level in order to benefit from the respective health and safety provisions in Member States. Furthermore, the project meets the overall aims of the Community Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health. Especially regarding the targets for accidents and occupational diseases, as well as the goal to encourage changes in behaviour and to promote a preventive health and safety culture.

5 Promoting such a preventive culture of health and safety at work in the construction sector is also important in order to improve the attractiveness of the construction sector to youth and women, which is necessary to make the sector more innovative and sustainable. In addition it will help to tackle the priorities of the Energy Union outlined in the Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU) and the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive (2010/31/EU) for transforming the European building stock. This particularly relevant because existing buildings with a low energy performance tend to date back to the heyday of asbestos use. Consequently the necessary renovation measures to improve energy performance tend to focus on parts of a building where asbestos can be found such as roofs, walls, cooling-, and heating systems thereby increasing the amount of asbestos that will be handled as part of this transformation process. In turn the question of hazardous waste is relevant for the circular economy. It will be important that the construction sector identifies and handles asbestos responsibly to avoid that the harmful substance will enter and contaminate the waste stream designated for new recycled products.