Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-22-Speech-2-274"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20021022.10.2-274"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, there is no disputing the fact that, along with the rules on free movement, health and safety at work is one of the European Union's spheres of activity that does not lack an unambiguous legal basis. The enactment of minimum requirements in this area is necessary in order to prevent, in this European internal market, competitive advantages from being won as it were on the backs of the workforce. In this sense, it is also laudable that the Commission is thinking about the future and setting out its primary areas of concern.
As well stated in this report, women and people with disabilities should be the main areas of concern. I am, though, rather wary of efforts to interpret the law broadly and make every conceivable aspect of working life subject to European regulation. In this area, too, there must still be room for national peculiarities and independence.
We are indeed facing great changes in working life in Europe. There are fewer and fewer employees in the traditional sense of the word. What are termed atypical working patterns are on the increase, and I also cannot rid myself of the suspicion that, in the absence of solutions to the real problems, we are increasingly churning out papers and declarations of intent that do workers at their actual workplaces precious little good. It seems to me to be a fact that – be it on the grounds of the oft-cited globalisation or of general developments in society – there is less protection for workers, the value of work as a factor of production is decreasing and the worker's need for protection is falling behind, whether despite European integration or because of it. Greater attention therefore needs to be given to the maintenance of the status quo as regards safety in actual workplaces.
We have to maintain the level of protection that we have achieved and made into one of Europe's common assets; it must also be introduced in the candidate countries, not only on paper, but also in reality. Paper can hang around a long time, even, and indeed especially in Europe – we all know that. But the industrial safety that we have achieved is at the heart of the social dimension of a Europe that is becoming more integrated, something that I believe workers see as a far more positive development than papers on employment and other aspects of strategy."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples