Italian unions stress role of bargaining during European health and safety week

As part of their response to the 'European week for safety and health at work' held from 22-28 October 2001, Italian trade unions organised a seminar in Rome. At this event, the unions stated that the enhancement of collective bargaining at all levels is required if the the problem of workplace safety is to be addressed properly. Furthermore, if safety policy is to be effective it must go further than mere compliance with the requirements laid down by law.

The annual 'European week for safety and health at work', promoted by the EU's European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, was held between 22 and 28 October 2001. Initiatives, mainly taking the form of information campaigns. were mounted in all 15 EU Member States. The aim of the European week was to increase awareness of an issue - that of workplace safety and health - which continues to be of crucial importance. According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, every year some 5,500 people are killed in workplace accidents across the EU and there are over 4.5 million accidents resulting in more than three days' absence from work, amounting to around 146 million working days lost. The problem is particularly acute in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thus, in 2001, the focus of the European week for safety and health at work was on accident prevention.

In Italy, one of the principal initiatives during the week was a seminar organised jointly by the three main trade union confederations - the General Confederation of Italian Workers (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, Cgil), the Italian Confederation of Workers' Unions (Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, Cisl) and the Union of Italian Workers (Unione Italiana del Lavoro, Uil). The event was held in Rome on 30 October 2001 and was mainly intended for workers' safety representatives.

By coincidence, the European week for safety and health at work was held during a period which saw a number of strikes organised at local level - for example, in the Brianza area, in the province of Parma, and in Trieste - following a number of fatal workplace accidents.

Unions emphasise importance of collective bargaining

A joint document was presented at the Rome seminar which set out the unions' guidelines for the prevention and reduction of workplace accidents.

The starting point is that the constant organisational changes introduced by firms have forced the unions to rethink their policy on health and safety at work. A particular cause of concern is the spread of subcontracting and outsourcing. According to the unions, attempts by firms to curb costs by means of these strategies may be deleterious to the protections and rights enjoyed by numerous workers. This is especially the case in the construction industry, which is particularly exposed to the risk of work-related accidents.

Another important issue concerns new work-related problems - notably stress and bullying - that have been added to the familiar problem of accidents at work.

According to the unions, these new safety challenges require an enhancement of collective bargaining on the issue, which to be effective must be diversified at the national, 'territorial' and company levels. The unions state that:

• national sector-level bargaining should deal with normative aspects such as strengthening the role of workers' safety representatives and identifying new instruments for health and safety information and monitoring. The unions view as a particularly positive development the creation of sectoral observatories on issues such as fatal and serious accidents. Moreover, collective bargaining at the national level should be used to introduce codes of behaviour on issues such as psychological or sexual harassment;

• at company level, according to the unions, workers' safety representatives and unitary workplace union structure s (rappresentanza sindicale unitaria, Rsu) should be more closely involved in company decisions on issues related to work organisation and technological innovation, and with a close bearing on safety. Company-level bargaining should also ensure that policies in areas such as working time, training, wages and job classifications give priority to the health and safety of workers. Finally, company-level control and monitoring activity should be increased, for example by means of research; and

• the 'territorial' level of bargaining - ie that covering a specific geographical area, such as a city or province - lies between the national and company levels. Although territorial-level industrial relations increased in importance during the 1990s (IT9907250F), they are still poorly developed in Italy. Safety may be an issue that gives impetus to this level of bargaining between unions, employers' associations and local governments. Furthermore, the quality of local development affects workplace health and safety. At the territorial level, moreover, initiatives can be taken in areas such as information, training, technological innovation, vigilance and control, and the battle against irregular and illegal work, which have considerable repercussions on safety and health at work.

Commentary

Health and safety at work continues to be a crucial issue in Italy (IT0011168F and IT0002351F).

Since the 1990s especially, legislation and the development of a system of participative industrial relations focused on the information and consultation of workers' representatives have indubitably been a turning point in dealing with the problem of health and safety at work. Particularly significant in this regard has been the election in enterprises with more than 15 employees of workers' safety representatives, as required by law 626/94. However, implementation of the measures envisaged in law and/or agreed by the social partners has in some cases been dominated by a logic of compliance with the rules, rather than the development of a effective risk-prevention policy.

It should also be borne in mind that the issue of safety at work is liable to create divisions within the labour force, with: some workers employed in sectors with greater accident risks (eg construction); some workers enjoying different levels of protection according to their employment relationships; and workers exposed to different types of risk (stress, bullying or 'traditional' work-related accidents).

The problem of health and safety interweaves with numerous issues which relate to matters such as work organisation, human resources management policies and technological innovation. Hence the importance of collective bargaining as an instrument for the overall regulation of the employment relationship. (Marco Trentini, Ires Lombardia)