Safety, hygiene and health at work: Community programme 1996-2000. Reports included

PURPOSE : To present the Annual Activity Report of the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection. CONTENT : This is the 26th Annual Activity Report of the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection and covers the year 2001. It was set up in 1974 to assist the Commission in the preparation and implementation of activities in the filed of safety, hygiene and health protection at work and to facilitate co-operation between the national administrations, trade unions and employers' organisations and the EU institutions. Some of the main tasks ascribed to the Committee include - to excahnge views and experience on planned regulations, - to contribute towards the development of a common approach to problems in the filed, - to draw the Commission's attention to the acquisition of new knowledge, - to implement educational and research projects, - to define action programmes regarding the prevention of accidents at work and health hazards and lastly - to inform interested parties of new Community measures In 2001 the Committee appointed the full and alternate members of the Committee who will serve from 2000-2003. The Committee met twice in 2001, on both occasions in Luxembourg. Five groups, whose work had been completed, were disbanded. They included: - Multidisciplinary services; - Musculo-skeletal disorders; - Occupational exposure levels; - Guidelines for chemical agents; - Prevention of violence at work; At the same time four groups were given a new mandate. They include: - Community Strategy 2002-2004; - Health and safety in the hospital sectors; - Fisheries sector; - Chemicals in the workplace; The Opinions adopted during the course of the plenary meeting included subjects relating to, inter alia, - Noise levels in toys; - Packaging and packaging waste; - Safety of wood working machines; - Multidisciplinary protective and preventive services and health surveillance at work; - Musculo-skeletal disorders Strategy for health and safety at work 2002-2006 - White Paper for future strategy on chemicals; - Violence at work; - Report on the European Agency for Safety and Health and Work; - Draft work programme for the Bilbao Agency for 2002. Co-operation with other bodies was also discussed. Such bodies help the Committee to monitor developments in the field of health and safety and include organisations such as the Scientific Committee for Occupational Exposure Limits to Chemical Agents, the trade Unions Technical Bureau and the International Labour Office.�