Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-14-Speech-3-320"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20040114.9.3-320"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
Mr President, first of all, I believe this discussion is very positive and contributes to the need for awareness, not only on the part of the public, but also on the part of politicians, international parliaments and the social partners. I would thus like to thank the Members.
I do not accept Mr Hughes' last comment. Yes, it was a very difficult directive, but it has been endorsed. It was not at all easy and the negotiations were a real marathon, but now it is a fact. We have already agreed on the Vibration Directive and now we are starting discussions on an optical radiation directive. Do you know many Member States that have legislation on optical radiation? With the combined efforts of Parliament, the Commission and the social partners, we have started to address the matter at European level.
Mr Hughes said that nothing has been done and that the Commission has done nothing either. We all agree that it is a very complicated issue in terms of defining the problem, in terms of legislating and in terms of achieving an agreement between the Member States, because there are huge differences involved. I will not refer to the social partners here because consultation in that regard will start later in 2004.
Let us consider what is needed and what we have actually done over the years, particularly since the Andersson Report, which triggered many discussions and decisions. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Bilbao has made it one of its main priorities. A study is already underway, the first part of which is about preventing violence and harassment in the workplace. A second research project has been commissioned. After much discussion and analysis and many studies involving experts, no real approach has emerged that suggests that the problems in question can be solved by legislation.
In 2003 a campaign on bullying and violence at work was launched here at Parliament. There are websites for each issue, and on them you will find contributions from analysts, academics, national agencies and the social partners, each with very different approaches. It is not an easy issue at all. It is not only complicated, it is very controversial. Different trade unions, analysts and scientists all have different approaches. The Commission cannot just come forward with a proposal for a directive without taking all these analyses into account. And, moreover, there is not a great deal of scientific analysis on these issues.
After all these years of work and data collection, and after working with studies, I do not accept, Mr Hughes, that nothing has happened. We have put the matter on the agenda for 2004 and we will launch this consultation with the social partners. One of the major issues of the discussion is the legislative approach. At the same time, we are going to work with all the other options, including recommendations, guidelines and an awareness-raising campaign.
I thank Parliament. You are always the locomotive on this issue and that really helps the work of the Commission. However, please take into account the complexity of the issue. It is not only a matter of disagreements between the Member States: it is very complex and we have to take all the relevant issues into account."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples