EESC opinion: Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work

EESC opinion: Community statistics on public health and health and safety at work

Key points

The Committee supports the proposed Regulation and its legal basis; the proposal complies with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, whilst allowing for the collection of statistics that are useful to the implementation of the Community strategy on health and safety at work, for which a clear legal framework has become necessary.

It stresses the importance of common definitions and systems for recognition, not least because of the mobility of workers, as regards:

  • occupational accidents and commuting accidents;
  •  occupational illnesses caused by working conditions and/or substances;
  • partial or permanent incapacity and invalidity caused by work-related accidents and illnesses, and the working days lost.

When collating statistics as to the number of people involved in each type of incident, the Committee believes that it would be helpful to take account of the gender and age of the victims and, as far as possible, the nature of their contractual relationship. Particular attention should be paid to the confidentiality of personal data collected.

The Committee believes that cooperation with the ILO and the WHO should be developed. In the Committee's view, the proposed regulation constitutes one of the most useful means of bringing about convergence of the nature of the definitions and data to be recorded, and the methods of collecting and analysing these data.