New plan to improve workplace health and safety

Plans to adapt Polish practice to the current EU strategy with respect to health and safety at work were formulated in accordance with recommendations issued by the Labour Protection Council endeavour The plans were drafted on the basis of a report commissioned by the Polish government from the Central Institute for Labour Protection. The social partners are now considering the proposals.

Central Institute for Labour Protection report

In late 2006, the Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute (Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, CIOP-PIB) presented to the Labour Protection Council (Rada Ochrony Pracy, ROP) a report entitled New European Union strategy for health and safety at work 2007–2012. The report anticipates the widely discussed European Commission Communication Improving quality and productivity at work: Community strategy 2007–2012 on health and safety at work (COM(2007) 62 final (71Kb PDF)), which was published in February 2007. Among the issues which the CIOP-PIB report highlights are the needs relating to the following areas:

• better legislation in the field of health and safety at work, along with more effective implementation;

• definition of clear objectives in the area of health and safety at work, monitoring progress towards their attainment;

• underlining health and safety at work as part of the national policy agenda;

• scientific research into health and safety at work.

Position of ROP

On 30 January 2007, ROP – in its capacity as a consultative and advisory body affiliated to the lower house of Polish parliament – formulated its position with respect to the creation of a strategic programme entitled Improvement of work safety and conditions.

Working on the basis of the CIOP-PIB analysis, the ROP members concluded that occupational safety and health conditions prevailing in Poland (PL0612019D) deviate significantly from the standards laid down in national law, as well as in relevant EU directives. The latter, for example, include Council Directive 89/391/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work, and a number of subsequent individual directives on: the workplace (Council Directive 89/654/EEC); work equipment (Council Directive 89/655/EEC); manual handling of loads (Council Directive 90/269/EEC); visual display units (VDUs) (Council Directive 90/270/EEC); and vibrations (Council and Parliament Directive 2002/44/EC).

In this context, ROP cited 2005 data from the Social Insurance Institution (Zakładzie Ubezpieczeń Społecznych, ZUS). In that year, ZUS pay-outs in the area of occupational safety and health amounted to PLN 4.1656 billion (approximately €1,960 billion, as at 6 July 2007), while the indirect costs of workplace accidents and occupational illnesses were estimated as corresponding to between 3% and 4% of Poland’s gross domestic product (GDP).

In conclusion, ROP decided to apply to the government to support the draft programme Improvement of work safety and conditions, to be divided into two three-year action stages: 2008–2010 and 2011–2013.

Main elements of government proposal

The Council of Ministers’ draft resolution on the implementation of the multi-year programme in its first stage was drawn up in April 2007. Its most important objective is to reduce the incidence of accidents at work. The document refers to existing laws at EU and national level. It also focuses on perfecting products and technologies which would help to attain a standard of health and safety at work comparable to that seen in the 15 older EU Member States. Towards these objectives, the plan is to carry out complementary actions for the implementation of the programme at three levels – central, societal and local.

The draft resolution also formulates a series of indirect measures which nonetheless are of considerable significance in shaping appropriate work conditions. These include combating social and vocational exclusion, and guaranteeing work safety for elderly and disabled persons. A new element provided for in the plan is to ‘devise a tool for assessing the risk of bullying’, and instruments for counteracting and limiting discrimination in the workplace.

Position of social partners

The Polish Confederation of Private Employers ‘Lewiatan’ (Polska Konfederacja Pracodawców Prywatnych ‘Lewiatan’, PKPP Lewiatan) has proposed the most specific and extensive set of amendments to the planned programme. The PKPP Lewiatan proposals include the following recommendations:

• the problems indicated by accident incidence analyses carried out by CIOP-PIB in the past should be expressly taken into account;

• Central Statistical Office (Główny Urząd Statystyczny, GUS) data on workplace accidents should be verified;

• measures tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should receive greater emphasis.

Commentary

The long-awaited programme offers hope of improvement in work and employment conditions in Poland. At present, the prevailing work conditions – along with low wages – constitute a major disincentive for workers. If this programme is adopted, the monitoring of its implementation will be necessary; this would involve not only experts in the relevant fields, but also representatives of the social partners and of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Jacek Sroka, Institute of Public Affairs (ISP)