Press release, 5 June 2002
Nearly double the risk to health and safety at work in the candidate countries
Workers in the candidate countries consider their health and safety to be more at risk because of work than workers in the European Union (40% as opposed to 27%), reporting higher levels of fatigue and musculo-skeletal problems. Workers in the candidate countries also work longer hours, on average 43.61 hours per week compared to 38.25 hours in the EU.
These are some of the findings of The First Survey on Working Conditions in the Candidate Countries, the first comprehensive overview of working conditions in the candidate countries by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. The findings of the survey will be presented by Mr. Raymond-Pierre Bodin, the Foundation's Director, and Mr. Pascal Paoli, research co-ordinator of the working conditions research team, during a press conference at the European Business Summit in Brussels (Heysel Expo) at 12.30 on 6 June 2002.
'Work organization tends to be less client-driven and more hierarchical in the candidate countries,' says the Foundation's Director Raymond-Pierre Bodin who made it clear that some of the survey conclusions can be attributed to differences in labour market structure. 'Our surveys show that 21% of the active population in the candidate countries works in the agricultural sector, as opposed to 5% in the EU. In the service sector, the situation is quite the opposite, with some 66% of workers in the EU and 47% in the candidate countries.
The survey is based on the same methods as the three working condition surveys that the Foundation has carried out in the European Union in 1990, 1995 and 2000, allowing for comparisons to be drawn between the two blocks of countries. Some 11.000 workers in candidate countries were interviewed face-to-face for the survey in 2001.
'Gender segregation is less prevalent in the candidate countries, and a higher proportion of women work: 46% compared to 42% in the EU,' says Mr. Pascal Paoli, research coordinator of the working conditions unit. 'However, part-time work is less frequent; 7% in the candidate countries as opposed to 17% in the EU. Also the dual workload (combining paid work with unpaid household / caring work) is more balanced between the sexes in the candidate countries although it is still far from being evenly distributed.'
A summary of the report is available for download (from 12.30 on 6 June 2002) at www.eurofound.ie/working/ccseminar.htm
For further information, contact John Hurley, Information Liaison Officer for Working Conditions, on telephone +353-1-204 3209 or email at john.hurley@eurofound.europa.eu. The Foundation press officer Måns Mårtensson is available on mobile +353-876-593 507 or email at press.officer@eurofound.europa.eu