IMPACT has denounced European Commission plans to weaken workplace health and safety protections. Union official and health and safety expert Dessie Robinson said  the proposals were a direct attack on workers’ rights, which risked increasing the number and severity of occupational accidents and illnesses.

The union says it will ask European trade union federations including the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) to put pressure on the EU to maintain and improve legal health and safety standards.

The new European Commission working document, Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT), says it aims to reduce the “burden” of regulation in health and safety, taxation, environment and other areas.

Specific measures in the area of workplace health and safety include a review of the EU health and safety directive and 23 related directives, which provide the legal framework for health and safety protections in Ireland and across Europe. The Commission has also decided not to proceed with planned directives on musculoskeletal disorders, display screens and environmental tobacco smoke.

Dessie, who is also a voluntary member of the board of the Health and Safety Authority, said the move would jeopardise health and safety and undermine public support for the EU.

“Last year there were 48 deaths and over 6,600 non-fatal injuries in Irish workplaces. Meanwhile, resources for health and safety inspection and enforcement are under immense pressure. Reducing legal protections is virtually guaranteed to make the problem worse and will do nothing to help the EU demonstrate its relevance to ordinary people as we approach next year’s European Parliament elections,” He said.