Safety at work: work equipment, minimum requirements (amend. Directive 89/655/EEC)

The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted the report by Mr P. SKINNER on the proposal to amend Directive 89/655/EEC (work equipment). The report significantly improves protection for workers by making numerous amendments to both the directive and its annexes: * a first series of amendments seeks to protect "persons", i.e. persons in the work area but not "workers at work"; the reason for these amendments is that the directive pays too little heed to the protection of "persons" exposed to extended risks inherent in work procedures and areas; * a second series of amendments stipulates the need for all sites, premises or areas in which workers may be present to be covered by health and safety requirements; * the report also makes provision for other social partners to be consulted (in addition to the employer) on health and safety measures and requirements; the report also stresses that everything possible should be done to ensure that the minimum requirements of "all" the annexes and not just some of them (annex II) are complied with; * a last series of amendments seeks to draw precise conclusions from the results of good health and safety practices in the Community in order to make them available to workers so that they can learn lessons from them.�