Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Denmark

Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) (Ratification: 1995)
Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187) (Ratification: 2009)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the key occupational safety and health (OSH) Conventions ratified, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Convention No. 155 and Convention No. 187 in a single comment.

Action at the national level

National policy

Article 3 of Convention No. 187; Articles 4 and 7 of Convention No. 155. National policy and periodic review. With reference to its previous comments concerning the role of the tripartite Working Environment Council in ensuring the coherence of OSH policies, the Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that since 1 January 2015 the Working Environment Authority (WEA) has been supervising the OSH aspects of offshore installations in the North Sea. The WEA meets on a quarterly basis with the Maritime Authority and the Transport Authority to discuss OSH matters. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government with regard to the adoption in 2011 of the “A New Way towards a Better Working Environment” strategy for 2012–20, which consists of 19 initiatives, including differentiated fines; intensified dialogue with enterprises; and increased help for smaller enterprises. The 2012–20 strategy focuses on specific working environment problems and aims to reduce by 2020: the number of serious occupational accidents by 25 per cent, in proportion to the number of workers; the number of workers who are psychologically overloaded by 20 per cent; and the number of workers who experience musculoskeletal disorders by 20 per cent. Regular evaluations and impact measurements of the 19 initiatives will be conducted to assess any need for modification and mid-term evaluations of the 2012–20 strategy are planned in 2014 and 2017, in cooperation with the WEA, to determine the progress made in achieving the strategy’s objectives. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken to implement, monitor and evaluate the 2012–20 strategy, including the targets and indicators of progress used, and to provide details on the results of the 2014 and 2017 mid-term evaluations. The Committee also requests the Government to provide further information on the consultations held with the social partners in this regard.

National system

Article 4(3)(c) of Convention No. 187; Article 9 of Convention No. 155. Mechanisms for ensuring compliance. System of inspection. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in response to its previous request concerning a revised system of workplace OSH screening called the “Smiley Scheme”. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that, in the context of the 2012–20 strategy, one of the initiatives was the introduction of risk-based inspections focusing on enterprises with safety and health issues. This means that enterprises with the most issues relating to the work environment will be subject to increased inspections. Welcoming the planning of labour inspection activities based on the level of occupational risks as an appropriate method to achieve coverage of workplaces by labour inspection, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the inspections undertaken in relation to OSH, including the number of inspections undertaken and sectors covered, and the manner in which the continued coverage of workplaces deemed to be lower risk is ensured.

Article 4(3)(g) of Convention No. 187. Collaboration with relevant insurance and social security schemes. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the WEA and the National Board of Industrial Injuries (NBII) collaborate on a register of industrial accidents and work-related diseases, that the WEA is a member of the Occupational Diseases Committee, which negotiates with the NBII with regard to the diseases which should be included on the list of occupational diseases, and that working groups can be established to investigate specific subjects.

Article 6 of Convention No. 155. Functions and responsibilities in relation to OSH. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous request concerning collective agreements dealing with psychosocial risks.

Article 11(c) of Convention No. 155. Notification of occupational accidents and diseases and application of the Conventions in practice. The Committee previously noted that, while the number of OSH accidents had decreased between 2005 and 2009, the number of cases of occupational disease had increased over the same period. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that studies have indicated that there is considerable under-reporting of occupational diseases, based on the reports of physicians and dentists. The Government further indicates that a certain number of notified occupational diseases should be understood as resulting from working conditions that existed in the past and that the increase in the number of occupational diseases no longer represents the current OSH situation. The Government indicates that 21,318 cases of occupational disease were reported in 2013 (compared with 19,913 cases in 2012), that 55 per cent of the cases concerned workers under 50 years of age, and that part of the increase is due to the growing awareness of doctors of the obligation to notify cases and suspected cases of occupational disease. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken to address the under reporting of cases of occupational disease, including the measures taken to raise awareness among medical practitioners of their obligation under the national legislation to report occupational diseases. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the application of the Convention in practice, including the number, nature and causes of occupational accidents and cases of occupational disease.

Article 14 of Convention No. 155. Measures to include OSH issues in educational and training programmes at all levels. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in response to its previous request concerning models developed by the Working Environment Council and the Ministry of Education to include OSH questions in educational curricula.