'Safe Start' campaign to protect young workers

An European Agency For Safety And Health At Work product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 22, 2006

The Safe Start campaign is being launched today by a European Commissioner because too many young people are getting hurt at work.

Across Europe, 18 to 24-year-olds are at least 50% more likely to be injured in the workplace than more experienced workers.

Behind the statistics are harrowing stories, of young people having to live with the consequences of accidents and damaged health for the rest of their lives, or dying when they had so much of their lives ahead of them.

Employers need to do more to protect young workers, and young people need to be more aware of health and safety issues when they enter the world of work.

That is why the Safe Start campaign is being launched today by European Commissioner Vladimir Apidla, the current Austrian and forthcoming Finnish EU Presidencies and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

Safe Start is dedicated to improving the occupational health and safety of the EU's 75 million young people.

Announcing the launch, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Vladimir Apidla said that young workers' safety wasn't just a matter for young people themselves: "Our message is that we all share responsibility for protecting young people at work.

Employers have a duty of care and are legally responsible for the health and safety of their workers, and EU law recognises that young people need special protection.

But this is also an issue for parents, for health and safety professionals, and for the education community.

And ultimately, it's an issue for policymakers.

We all have to work together, to make sure that young people have a safe and healthy start to their working lives." Safe Start has already received the backing of employers' representatives, trade unions, youth organisations and the education sector, as well as all the EU Member States.

As well as making employers and young workers more aware of risk, Safe Start aims to involve educators in an important role.

As Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, explains: "We can't just leave it until young people have already started work to teach them about health and safety.

We have to reach them early - while they are still at school or college - so that they get used to a culture of risk prevention.

"With the world of work changing so quickly, this deep-rooted 'health and safety thinking' will help young people deal with whatever risks they may face throughout their working lives.

It should be part and parcel of the school and college curriculum.

We also want our engineers, designers, architects, medical students and business managers of tomorrow to be risk-aware and well-informed about OSH in their professional roles.

Instilling these values in young people at an early age will help to promote a prevention culture in workplaces." Safe Start features a wide range of engaging quizzes, interactive learning materials and events, including good practice awards and a competition to find the European Young Film Maker of the Year on a health and safety theme.

The campaign culminates in the European Week for Safety and Health at Work from 23 - 27 October 2006, with a range of awareness-raising activities being organised across Europe.