Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - Denmark (Ratification: 1972)

Article 5(a) and (b) of the Convention. Cooperation and collaboration with a view to improving the protection of agricultural workers and their family members against risks to safety and health in agricultural undertakings. The Committee notes with satisfaction the information supplied by the Government in its report received in November 2008, on the initiatives taken by the Danish Working Environment Authority with the National Centre of the Danish Agricultural Advisory Service to improve occupational safety and health and reduce the number of accidents in agricultural undertakings since the beginning of 2006, in particular to reduce the number of fatal accidents occurring in the sector. During the first half of 2008, the Danish Working Environment Authority organized meetings with stakeholders in the sector to evaluate and continue to focus on these initiatives.

The Sector Working Environment Council BAR Jord til Bord was established under the Working Environment Act to contribute to solving safety and health problems in the agricultural sector and to support safety and health measures at the sectoral and enterprise levels. Among the Council’s activities, the Government draws attention to the following activities focusing on safety and health in the agricultural sector, which are described on its web site (www.barjordtilbord.dk/):

–      A survey of all work processes in order to obtain a total outline of initiatives, which may help to improve safety and health at work in the potato production process was prepared in cooperation with the United Federation of Danish Workers, the Market Garden, Agricultural and Forestry Management Employers’ Association and the National Centre of the Danish Agricultural Advisory Centre (“Safety and health at work in handling potatoes”).

–      A national campaign focusing on traffic, machinery, children and accidents due to falls, as the most important causes of serious accidents in the agricultural sector.

–      Numerous articles on industrial injuries caused by large animals have been written under the Health and Safety Committee of Farming, in the context of the Sector Working Environment Council BAR Jord til Bord. These articles can be downloaded from the Council’s web site.

–      The Safety and Health Committee of Agriculture has revised “The Sector Guidelines on children and young persons’ work in agriculture”, approving and prohibiting tasks, working and rest periods for children and young persons, including trainees and children and young persons in family farming. The rules on young persons driving tractors and working with substances and materials are also being reviewed.

–      The Safety and Health Committee of Agriculture has worked together with the Silkeborg State Forest Region on preparing tools tailored for agriculture, including material on the completion of the statutory workplace assessments (WPA), with a survey on the psychosocial working environment and job satisfaction.

With references to its 2008 observation, in which it welcomed the screening procedures established to assess the status of enterprises in relation to occupational safety and health legal requirements, the Committee notes that all agricultural enterprises with employees are subject to screening within the period 2005–11 by the general inspection services of the Danish Working Environment Authority. The screening is an unannounced visit and lasts for an average of two hours during which safety and health at work is reviewed, the aim being to identify enterprises with serious safety and health problems and to select these for more thorough inspection. On the occasion of screening activities in 2005, 2006 and 2007, the Danish Working Environment Authority issued a number of stop notices (13, 15 and 15, respectively) and improvement and immediate improvement notices (265, 338 and 222, respectively), while guidance was given in 166, 169 and 55 cases, respectively, primarily linked to risks of accidents, the effort required, ergonomic safety and health problems, and chemical and biological risks.