The EP resolution of 25 November 2015 on the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020 (2015/2107(INI)) takes on board several concerns raised by the CoR opinion, namely the lowering of health and safety standards in the context of the crisis, the role of the social partners, the role of labour inspectors, the increased risks of discrimination against women, the need to support micro and small enterprises, the need for better and more reliable data concerning new risks, the need to pay special attention to older workers, the need to step up awareness-raising efforts in order to promote a culture of prevention and the need to pay special attention to health and safety regulations in the negotiation of international trade agreements.
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
regrets that LRAs have played a very limited role in the Commission's strategy. The Committee calls on the Commission to guarantee that they will be formally involved in commitments in this area, acknowledging that as major employers they are key institutional actors;
stresses that, due to their partnership and links to local businesses, LRAs can play an important role in integrating legislation, promoting the "culture of prevention" and the proper application of preventive standards, and supporting representation and collective redress on safety issues;
proposes to identify a European central steering committee responsible for defining, coordinating and developing health and safety at work issues (preferably coordinated by EU-OSHA), not least in order to play a more effective proactive role in providing a point of reference, guidance and oversight for Member States implementing EU legislation;
is strongly in favour of financing measures from 2014 and calls for ad hoc support to be arranged for projects presented by LRAs, especially those that represent areas where effective coverage by the public health system is lacking or areas facing demographic challenges;
proposes that exchanges of best practices be fostered between regional and local administrations actively involved in this field;
agrees that the effectiveness of sanctions, administrative fines imposed and non-traditional ways of monitoring compliance needs to be assessed in cooperation with the Member States, the Senior Labour Inspectorate Committee (SLIC) and the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health (ACSH), on the condition that the public sector is given an opportunity to play a role in these bodies.