France: unions warn of the "carnage" of work accidents
Workers on the Saint-Nazaire construction site, in France, on January 10, 2017. LOIC VENANCE / AFP
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For the first time in France, a gathering of unions denouncing “
employer impunity
” in the face of occupational diseases and accidents was organized this Thursday in Paris, on the occasion of the international day for health and safety at work.
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Mobilizing on the occasion of this day of April 28,
chosen by the ILO in 2003,
"
is not a tradition in France
", recalled Louis-Marie Barnier, labor sociologist and trade unionist.
But this year, several professional unions of the CGT or SUD Industries have mobilized before the Ministry of Labor against what they describe as "
carnage
".
“
Accidents are considered part of the job, whereas they often result from work organization choices made by companies
,” adds Mr. Barnier.
"
If an employer knows that there is a 1% risk, he will take it anyway, saying to himself 'it is unlikely to happen'
".
France, the country where people die the most at work
France is also the European country where people die the most at work with 7,800 deaths in ten years, according to figures from the European Trade Union Confederation.
Along with Spain, these are the only two countries where the trend is on the rise.
Elsewhere, the number of deaths is lower and above all it is decreasing.
In Germany, there are 3,100, much less in Romania or Portugal.
The unions are calling in particular for "
more prevention
" within companies, because the labor inspectorate "
generally only controls after the accident has taken place
", according to one of the members of SUD Industrie.
They are also calling for harsher legal penalties.
"
We're tired of dying
," said Frédéric Mau, of the CGT building.
Employed in the construction industry for 30 years, he says that the sector has "
one death per day worked and 5,000 accidents with sequelae per year
", which lead to "
terrible social loneliness
" among the victims, insufficiently repaired.
More than 1,000 fatal and commuting accidents every year
For the unions, the abolition of the Health, Safety and Working Conditions Committees (CHSCT) in 2017 had a "
disastrous
" effect on health and safety at work.
“
These issues cannot be dealt with in collective frameworks that are not dedicated to health and devoid of powers other than advisory
”.
In France, "
more than 1,000 fatal work and commuting accidents
" occur each year, in the private sector alone.
A social security report, published last September, also estimated that half of work accidents were not recognized as such.
(
With
AFP)
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