HSE leads for the UK in negotiations. Other agencies such as the Office of the Rail Regulator, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Better Regulation Executive have an interest.
In 1990 the European Commission introduced two Directives intended to address the problem of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs); one on Manual Handling and another on the use of Display Screen Equipment. In 2008 it commissioned research into the possible impact of a number of EU level policy options designed to improve the prevention of work-related MSDs. This was followed in 2009 by a proposal for a new Directive addressing all significant risk factors for work-related MSDs and repealing the previous two Directives. The aim was to:
During 2009 a working group of the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work (ACSH) considered the proposal, revised the text and agreed an opinion, which was accepted by the ACSH at its December plenary. In addition an Expert Group, composed of representatives from all Member States, met to advise the Commission on the drafting of the two technical annexes. It was expected the Commission would publish a proposal in Spring 2010. However, the Commission decided more research was needed before preparing an impact assessment of the economic, social and environmental consequences of its proposal. Delays have continued with this dossier.
HSE supports the principle policy objective of this Directive i.e. simplification; but considers the text on which the ACSH based its opinion did not achieve this aim. It will continue to work on its own impact assessment for the proposal and contribute to the work of the expert group should another meeting be called.
The European Commission's Impact Assessment Board considered the proposal in March 2012. We expect the Commission to adopt the proposal in the second half of 2012, with negotiations between Member States taking place thereafter.
Although HSE originally supported the principal policy objective of this Directive i.e. simplification, it considers the current text does not achieve this aim – e.g. it introduces new risk factors and removes the current exemptions for certain types of display screen equipment. In addition, HSE believes that the costs associated with the proposal will have a disproportionate impact on SMEs and micro-businesses without any demonstrable benefits to health and safety.
April 2012
