18 October 2004

This year's European Week for Safety and Health at Work (18-22 October) will focus on the construction industry. The construction industry has well over 12 millions employees in the European Union and it also has one of the worst occupational safety and health records. A record that costs business and tax payers over £50 billion a year, not to mention the suffering of injured workers.

Claude Moraes MEP said,

"This year's safety and health at work week will highlight the problems and the solutions of occupational health and safety. The campaign, funded by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, will bring people together to share best practice and help in the building of a safer, healthier more productive working environment.

"European rules and guidelines have meant that workers across the whole of the European Union have been protected from mechanical vibrations like drills, exposure to noise from machinery, protected skin from eczema causing chemicals in cement, ensured work equipment is safe to use, ensured the use of personal protective equipment, protected workers from asbestos, protected workers from carcinogenic chemicals amongst other things.

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