Ministry seeks to improve collection of workplace health and safety data

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In January 1999, Greece's Ministry of Labour and Social Security sent an urgent circular on health and safety and risk assessment to all Prefectures. The aim is to address the current lack of statistical data on workplace health and safety.

On 18 January 1999, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security sent to all the Prefectures in Greece an urgent circular on the topic of "workers' health and safety/risk assessment". The circular focuses on the problem of a lack of statistical data on occupational illnesses and accidents, and stresses the need for immediate collection of such data - particularly on occupational illnesses and accidents, on the problems and weaknesses of companies and on the implementation of the legislation on these issues. The data are required:

• in order to map out a cohesive national policy for workers' health and safety which will meet the real needs of working people; and

• so that Greece can meet its international obligations in drawing up an annual report of the work of the technical and sanitary labour inspectorate for the International Labour Organisation and in drawing up reports on the implementation in Greece of international labour standards, Community guidelines and the EU Social Charter on health and safety issues.

In order to achieve the above objectives, the circular notes that the Prefectures' technical and sanitary inspectors are obliged to maintain and submit to the general directorate of working conditions and hygiene statistical data on:

1. occupational accidents and illnesses;

2. planning and reporting of their activities; and

3. implementation of legislation.

The technical and sanitary inspectors must also write a report referring to more general potential problems relating to the overall functioning of the system of occupational risk prevention and to provide any other necessary information the general directorate may require. The circular also states that one of the basic demands of the current legislation on workers' health and safety, which was introduced by Articles 7 and 8 of Presidential Decree 17/96, is the employers' obligation to make available a written risk assessment. In the framework of this legislation, and in order to meet the above demands, the Ministry has taken specific action to inform all the actors involved of this particular demand, and is requesting that all competent authorities report to the Ministry on the companies which do or do not meet this obligation to have a written risk assessment available. For practical reasons, data currently refer only to companies employing 50 or more workers.