Brussels’ push to reindustrialise Europe – aimed at revitalising manufacturing, boosting growth and reducing strategic dependencies – is colliding with a new set of workplace risks. Emerging technologies and evolving production models promise efficiency gains but also raise concerns over the physical and mental well-being of workers, putting occupational safety firmly back on the policy agenda.
The European Commission has rolled out initiatives, including the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027, underpinned by the Occupational Safety and Health Directive. Yet gaps in implementation across member states persist, prompting calls for more harmonised and worker-centric regulation. These tensions were at the centre of a Euractiv debate hosted by 3M on 14 October.
In an opening keynote speech, Mario Nava of the European Commission’s employment and social affairs directorate started positively: “First of all, we start with the good news. The good news is that the actions that we have taken in the past have brought progress.”
“Fatal accidents at work decreased by 70% which is great, but despite this decrease, we still have about 176,000 workers a year who die due to work-related factors,” he said.
“We all know that the statistics of work-related factors may be subject to discussion, but that is the ballpark. And 175,000 workers per year is really a lot – many linked to occupational cancer, others linked to cardiovascular diseases, some other types of work diseases, as well as fatal work accidents,” Nava explained.
He highlighted the various EU legislative tools and measures, including the Asbestos Directive and the Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic Substances at Work Directive (CMRD).
Mental health concerns
Of the post-COVID digital age, Nava said, “Something more subtle is mental health and psychological risk at work. Dependence risk coming from digitalisation. As we know, post-COVID, the increased digitalisation of our work has probably made many workers feel that they are working more and more intensively, that they cannot have a break, so there is the issue of the right to disconnect.”
“And that’s the reason mental health is a clear priority for the Commission and Commission President von der Leyen announced it in her political guidelines when she was endorsed by the Parliament a year and a half ago,” he pointed out.
Nava stressed the problem of climate change and the issue of heat at work. “If you work in a nice office with air conditioning, you adapt relatively well to climate change. If you work in construction or if you work on the street, then the situation is very, very different. The pressure of climate change is clear.”
During the panel discussion, Li Andersson, MEP and chair of the committee on employment and social affairs, also outlined the current state of play as well as upcoming initiatives: Proposals from the Commission are expected in 2026 regarding the regulation of digitalisation, artificial intelligence and algorithmic management in the workplace, as well as measures for preventing and managing psychosocial risks and the right to disconnect.
Subcontracting and occupational health
In addition to the recently proposed CMRD, there are ongoing discussions about subcontracting in relation to occupational health and safety.
The EP employment committee is also set to begin work on an own-initiative report concerning the effects of extreme temperatures on workers’ health and safety, with plans to start in late 2025 or early 2026. Andersson also underlined the importance of updating the EU’s 2021–2027 strategic framework on health and safety at work.
“More than 3,000 people die in work-related accidents in Europe every year. Each of these deaths is one too many – our goal should be zero. No one should leave for work and never return home. I am committed to ensuring that occupational health and safety remains one of our priorities throughout this mandate,” she said.
William Cockburn, executive director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), highlighted the significant societal burden of work-related injuries and illnesses, their causes and trends. He emphasised the impact of demographic, green and digital transitions on occupational safety and health (OSH) and competitiveness. The need for improved OSH legislation implementation and compliance was explained, along with EU-OSHA’s role in policy research, risk prevention and awareness-raising.
“In today’s challenging times, it is more important than ever that we keep Europe’s workers safe and healthy and our economies productive and sustainable. Our competitiveness depends on a safe and healthy workforce, reducing the high toll of work-related accidents and illnesses that cause unacceptable suffering and costs our economy the equivalent of 3% of GDP,” he said.
Focus on reindustrialisation
Dimitra Theodori, head of unit for health and safety and working conditions, ETUI, took a step back to sketch the broader context and concerns that her organisation sees. “Firstly, it is right for Europe to focus on reindustrialisation, especially when it comes to strengthening the position and the competitiveness of clean industry and clean tech.”
“Given the geopolitical pressures, we feel the targets laid out for achieving that are right. But what we also see is that there is a lack of investment. And in this context, there is the risk that Europe turns its focus to deregulation and simplification. And these trends may result in lowering work conditions, including occupational safety and health,” she said.
“And there is also a second risk that firms who want to restructure only do that by focusing on reducing costs, and that’s also a risk for lowering occupational safety and health standards. So, in this context, we develop knowledge and evidence. And we do think that we now have a unique opportunity.”
“Now we are going back to the drafting board to use the knowledge we have to shape an economy where the workers are safe, empowered and also truly valued,” added Theodori.
Ivailo Kalfin, executive director, Eurofound, echoed this sentiment: “When we ask the workers what is most important for them in attracting them to the workplace, strangely enough, salary comes in third place. First place is the safe working conditions, which are physical and mental working conditions. And if we want to make the jobs in Europe attractive, and they are attractive compared to all the other regions in the world, so we are quite positive there, there should be attention to this.”
Laura Galli, vice-president, 3M, which manufactures personal protective equipment (PPE), highlighted their corporate programme called ‘Journey to Zero’, which aims to get to zero injuries, zero accidents and spills.
“I believe that when discussing minimum requirements, we should aim for the best for the worker. So that’s where we should put our bar. We need best practices that we have in some member states, but also in the workplace and best practices related to the quality of the solution. Take PPE, for example, I’m thinking about the practice of doing simple things like respiratory fit testing. Something like this, that is simple, that is mandatory in some countries and not others, has a real effect on the health and safety of the workers,” she said.
“Europe has a very good framework with all these directives and legislation that we have already mentioned, for instance, asbestos. But I believe it is very important how we transpose this into the country, and ideally, we should have a harmonised approach everywhere,” concluded Galli.
(BM)
