ECSC on retaining a specific Commission for safety and health
The ECSC Consultative Committee has adopted a Resolution on the Commission's proposal to merge the Safety and Health Commission for mining and other extractive industries with the Advisory Committee on safety, hygiene and health protection at work. The Committee has already expressed its opposition to this proposal in a resolution adopted on 14 March 1996. The Committee outline their reasons for the need to maintain the specific nature of the Safety and Health Commission emphasising in particular statistics which indicate that working conditions in coal mines and in the extractive industries are still much harsher than in most other sectors of production and the risks inherent in this environment are still greater. They also point out that working conditions in these industries are so specific that they have led to specific legislation in most Member States and that the Safety and Health Commission provides a vital instrument of dialogue to enable continued improvements in working conditions based on past experiences. They recommend that the Safety and Health Commission continue in existence as a specific, independent body which may be linked from an operational point of view with the Advisory Committee. They also underline the fact that this structure, namely the linking of operations, may serve as a model for an effective tie-up between the sectoral aspects in other branches of industry and the multi-sectoral aspects at an EU level.