Failure to deliver on a promise to improve protection from cancer-causing asbestos will have serious consequences for the health of people and democracy, trade unions have warned the European Commission President.
In a letter sent to Ursula von der Leyen today, unions remind her that a commitment to deliver legislation on the screening and registration of asbestos in European buildings was included in the Commission’s work programme for 2023.
“Our single market is a key tool to ensure that the health and safety of people across the Union comes first,” said the document published in October 2022.
Berlaymont asbestos
The proposal was subsequently scheduled to be discussed at the Commission’s college meeting on June 15 last year.
However, seven months later, the Commission has still not delivered the promised legislation. And, with just four months until the European elections, it is quickly running out of time to do so.
It is also 28 years since the European Commission removed the asbestos from its own Berlaymont headquarters.
7 million workers
The letter sent to Ursula von der Leyen sets out the “significant risk” still posted to workers in various sectors, including construction, firefighting, industry, education, and office work.
Around 90,000 people lose their lives to asbestos-related cancer in the EU every year, making it the leading cause of workplace fatalities.
Between 4 and 7 million workers across the EU are exposed to asbestos and that number is expected to grow by 4% over the next decade as a result of building renovations as part of the EU Green Deal.
The letter, sent by the asbestos task force of the European Trade Union Confederation, concludes:
“The absence of mandatory screening and registration exacerbates this issue, leaving workers unknowingly exposed to this hazardous substance.
“Moreover, with the European Green Deal and its flagship initiative, the Renovation Wave, gaining momentum, it is crucial to ensure the safety of workers and dwellers, as well as citizens in general, who may be exposed during these much-needed initiatives aimed at addressing climate change.
“As we approach the final stage of the institutional term for the Commission and the Parliament, we emphasize the urgency of taking decisive action.
“Failing to deliver on promises in this critical matter would not only compromise the safety of European citizens but also erode trust and credibility in the European Union at a pivotal moment in our history, giving popular credibility to the narrative of the anti-European parties just as they are preparing to compete in the upcoming European elections.”
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
"Millions of people working in every sector have had their lives cruelly cut short by cancer after having been unknowingly exposed to it."
"And the risk of asbestos exposure is going to increase in the coming years as a direct result of the much needed renovation programmes.
"That puts a moral obligation on the Commission to deliver on its promise of a legislative initiative on the screening of buildings for asbestos and its safe removal.
"The number one cause of work-related deaths cannot be allowed to be forgotten because the attention of politicians has turned towards the elections."
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