European declaration on the protection of workers exposed to Coronavirus

The European Commission is committed to achieving the best possible level of protection of the health and safety of workers and since the beginning of the pandemic has taken measures to protect lives and support national efforts to address the health crisis, cushioning the economic repercussions and using all the flexibility offered by budgetary rules and state aid to ensure the availability of protective equipment individual that help protect citizens and workers.

Continuing with this work, the Commission Declaration was recently published following the presentation of Directive (EU) 2020/739 from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council with regard to prevention and protection of the health and safety of workers exposed or who may be exposed to SARS-CoV-2.

The Commission recalls that, as regards health and safety at work, Council Framework Directive 89/391/EEC imposes all employers the non-negotiable obligation to carry out and maintain a complete and up-to-date risk assessment, in accordance with its articles 6 and 9.This implies that all risks in the workplace, _including exposure to SARS-CoV-2, must be taken into account and evaluated together, including their interaction with psychosocial, biological, chemical and other risks. 

The relevant preventive and protective measures must be adopted, and the employer must provide all the necessary information on all health and safety risks, as well as on all protection and prevention measures and activities that affect both the company and/or the establishment in general, as well as to each type of job and/or function. 

The great importance of proper training for workers who may be exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and the right of each worker is also noted. to receive such training, in particular in the form of information and instructions specific to their job or function. 

Also, attention is drawn to the following specific and rigorous health and safety obligations, established in Directive 2000/54/EC on agents biological:

• Detailed measures for risk reduction, including collective and individual protection measures, hygiene measures, procedures to avoid or minimize exposure, and the use of relevant warning signs. 
• Hygiene and individual protection measures, which establishes, among other things, the right of workers to have appropriate protective suits or other types of special suits suitable.
• Information and training, which provides for the right of workers to receive clear information, for example, about potential health risks, precautions to be taken to prevent exposure, provisions on hygiene and the use of personal protective equipment.

The Commission underlines that all the aforementioned provisions apply to all workers and all workplaces. ___The new measures are now in force and Member States must incorporate them into their national legal system within a maximum of five months.