The Construction Health and Safety Forum was set up by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work to pave the way to a follow-up Construction Safety Summit will be organised by the Agency in June 2006.  This will involve all key stake-holders who have subscribed to the Bilbao Declaration in November 2004.

The construction sector has been the focus for a number of campaigns run by SLIC (Senior Labour Inspectors Committee) whose Secretariat based in Luxembourg.  Whilst labour inspection is an exclusively national competency, efforts have been made to collate information across Europe to help improve standards Europe-wide.  There is a difference in the scope of Labour Inspectors in different countries but the general areas of activity are: Health and Safety / Psycho-social / Labour Law.  Some 50% of inspectors are generalists, the remaining 50% are law specialists. In some countries military, nuclear, sometimes also the railway and the self-employed sector may be excluded from the inspectors’ activity.  In some countries exclusions also include the public. 

In the late 1990’s SLIC ran campaigns relating to the agriculture, textile and automobile sectors.  In 2003 it reviewed construction across the then 15 EU Member States, construction continued to be the focus in 2004 and in 2005 the same exercise was carried out for the 10 ‘new’ Member States.  The reason given for repeating the exercise in 2004, is the high rate of accidents – this provided an opportunity to check on the implementation of Directive 92/57/EEC.  According to the European Agency the relative incidence of non-fatal accidents in construction is 141, compared to an EU industry average of 100.  Eurostat, the EU’s statistical unit states that around 1,300 workers are killed each year in the sector.  This amounts to 13 employers out of every 100,000: more than twice the average of other sectors.  Figures from the International Labour Organisation for the 10 countries which joined the EU in 2004, estimate that construction there accounted for 20% of all work related accidents.

The EU construction industry is estimated to be worth Euro 902 billion a year.   On this basis an EU study estimated that overall accident and ill-health costs in the sector total 8.5% of project costs, whilst the European Agency for Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) states that poor OSH standards in construction could cost the EU and its tax payers over Euro 75 billion each year – nearly Euro 200 for each member of the population.  Accurate figures are hard to gauge in light of potentially significant numbers of unregistered employees – and unregistered accidents.

ECCE was one of a number of construction bodies which were called upon to seek to encourage improvements.  The Bilbao Declaration is in fact a call for action touching a number of areas.  One is procurement.  An emphasis on quality – well-planned, well-designed projects that are carried out by competent, qualified professionals – is considered to offer the client the dual benefits of a good return on investment and a reduction in accident rates.  Another target is improved compliance.  The Declaration called on Member States to ensure effective enforcement. 

Murt Coleman, appointed to ECCE’s Executive Committee in 2005, has agreed to take responsibility for ECCE’s actions in this field.

For further information: http://osha.eu.int/ew2004/

The Bilbao Declaration “Building in Safety” may be viewed on: http://agency.osha.eu.int/publications/other/20041122/en/index_1.htm   

A web-cast of the European Construction Safety Summit may be viewed by accessing: http://osha.eu.int/ew2004/closingevent/broadcast/index_en.htm