In a letter of 25 August, the prime minister Edouard Philippe has made of the health at work on the menu of bilateral meetings back-to-school with the social partners to determine the social agenda 2019. Four days later, the ministry of labour déterrait discreetly a report polemic devoted to the protection of workers exposed to hazardous chemical agents. Established by the professor of medicine of work Paul Frimat, this document was sleeping in a drawer for several months.
according to the latest edition of the Sumer, 2.2 million workers were in contact with at least one carcinogenic chemical
Contrary to the report Lecocq on prevention submitted to the prime minister’s office the day before (link to PDF), the report Frimat has not been the subject of a discount to the public, and for good reason : while the government leans rather to the relief of employers ‘ obligations in the area of risk prevention, the professor Frimat made several proposals that take the opposite course of the reforms initiated under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron.
It focuses on the accountability of companies and the recognition of occupational diseases due to hazardous chemical substances.
The subject is sensitive : according to the latest edition of the Sumer led by the ministry of labour and cited in the report, 2.2 million workers were in contact with at least one carcinogenic chemical (gas, diesel, solvent etc.), or about one employee out of ten. However, the legislation regarding the exposure of employees to hazardous substances seems to be poorly known and rarely applied by the employers.
Sanctions recommended
The report cites one of the few large scale surveys that exist on this subject, conducted in the framework of the european committee of senior officials of the labour inspection (SLIC) and focusing on the areas of the vehicle repair and cleaning in 2010. This investigation ” has established…
