NDPHS Annual Conference - Forum "Healthy life - Healthy work" Vilnius, 15 November 2007 Jukka Takala Director Trends on OSH and the Healthy Workplace Initiative

Overview  Current situation: changing world of work Changes in the workplace Changes in the workforce  From occupational safety to occupational health  Present and future challenges  Policy opportunities  Healthy Workplace Initiative

Changes in the workplace  Economic structure Tertiarisation: usually implies fewer accidents but higher prevalence of psychosocial issues  Employment structure Part-time, seasonal, temporary agency work, subcontracting, self-employment, telework  Legislation and best practice e.g., to encourage the integration of people with disabilities at work requires more attention to workers’ health status (incl. chronic diseases)

Changes in the workforce  Ageing population delayed retirement: more important to maintain health and work ability Workers >55 suffer the most serious accidents, and have the greatest incidence of illnesses such as occupational cancers  Increasing number of women at work Traditionally under-researched and overlooked: emphasis on accidents and male-dominated sectors and occupations  Increasing number of migrant workers Concentrated in high-risk sectors Over-represented in hazardous jobs

Trends in the population age structure EU-25

Major causes of death by age group, EU-25, 2001

Global Estimated Work-Related Fatalities by Region, absolute numbers World Bank Regions: EME - Established Market Economies; FSE - Former Socialist Economies; IND - India; CHN - China; OAI - Other Asia and Islands; SSA - Sub-Saharan Africa; LAC - Latin-America and Caribbean; MEC - Middle Eastern Crescent

Policy opportunities  This complex situation in the workplace and in society requires joined-up action across policy areas Public, occupational and environmental health; employment; economics; research…  The key concerns in OSH offer excellent opportunities for concerted action: Psychosocial factors: stress, violence & bullying MSDs: mainstreaming OSH into education biological hazards: pandemics, recycling… chemical hazards: implementation of REACH

Work-related Fatalities – EU million economically active, employment 205 million The problem in Europe is a major one 167,000 fatalities attributed to work-related accidents and diseases in EU, and within that: 159,000 fatalities attributed to work-related diseases 7,460 fatalities caused by accidents at work in the EU, 74,000 fatalities attributed to hazardous substances at work in the EU (asbestos included)

OSH Performance and National Competitiveness

What are the objectives of the HWI?  Overall: Developing a preventive safety and health culture in newest Member States, Accession countries.  Specific: Knowledge transfer to meet specific needs of SMEs Raising awareness of Health & Safety essentials  Main message: Safety and Health at Work is everyone’s concern. It’s good for you. It’s good for business.

How did the campaign ensure optimal visibility for SMEs in 2006?  Dedicated website in 13 languages  Targeted literature dissemination (FOPs & EICs) Risk Assessment Checklists OSH Essentials Brochure  National, regional and local PR and Press campaigns (printed and online)  Healthy Workplace Initiative seminars (36) Half-day / Full day Presentations by OSH authorities, EICs and SMEs

What were the results in 2006?  Results of the 2006 campaign show: Agency HWI dedicated website received over visits to date Over Risk Assessment checklists were disseminated by FOPs and EICs Press advertisements (printed and online) reached over contacts in the 12 countries PR work resulted in 179 press clippings in the 12 countries

 Via a dedicated website in 15 languages  Via targeted literature distribution Risk Assessment Checklists (new design) OSH Essentials Brochure (new design) How will the campaign reach SMEs?

Thank you for your attention Jukka Takala Director, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work For more information on HWI please contact Bruno Thiébaud –