This guide is intended first and foremost as a tool for activists , rather than as yet another document describing and comparing the various social protection systems that exist in the Europe of 27 Member States and 28, 29 or more in future. Based on the real situations faced by women and men... Find out more

These three letters - MSD - mask the leading cause of occupational illness in Europe. According to a wide European survey on working conditions, 25% of European workers suffer from back pain and 23% from muscular pain. These particularly incapacitating pathologies seriously undermine the physical... Find out more

There were more than a million deaths from cancer in the European Union in 2006. A significant percentage of these deaths were caused by workers being exposed to carcinogens at the workplace. These include asbestos, of course, but also an endless number of toxic petrochemical substances or dust that... Find out more

This handbook aims to give an overview of the EU institutions and procedures involved in regulating health and safety at work, and the role of trade unions in relation to it. Depending on where their interests lie and what they already know about a given issue, readers can choose to explore the... Find out more

The TRACE project, which ETUI Education coordinated, focused on the important issues of economic restructuring and the management of change. During the project a large number of useful training materials were identified in the many different sectors covered (including public services, metalworking... Find out more

The proposed reform of the European legislation on trade in chemical substances, known as REACH ( R egistration, E valuation and A uthorisation of CH emicals), pursues two main aims: ensuring a high level of protection for human health and the environment; and strengthening the competitiveness of... Find out more

This guide describes the concept of language training for trade unionists, and defines the target group and its particular language learning needs. It provides curricula guidelines for four levels of language training. It also outlines a set of methodological principles for various aspects of... Find out more

Hundreds of thousands of workers' health and safety reps are active in workplaces across the EU. Since the 1989 Framework Directive passed into law, employers have had a duty to carry out risk assessments, and workers' reps must be involved in them in ways which vary widely between countries and... Find out more

Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) are a major occupational health problem in Europe, affecting over 40 million workers. Current EU legislation includes some ergonomic provisions related to MSD prevention, but does not adequately address specifically Upper Limb Disorder-related MSD risks. In neither... Find out more

Publication date: 2004 Over a hundred thousand people in the European Union are killed each year in an accident or by a disease caused by poor working conditions. Truth to tell, this is no more than an approximate minimum, because no exact figures can be put on it. It is a conservative and certainly... Find out more