“Lighten the load”, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work’s 2007 campaign to tackle MSDs at the workplace, has been launched in Brussels by the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Valdimir Špidla, who said this was a priority for the EU if they were to create more and better jobs in Europe. MSDs are musculoskeletal disorders, the most common work-related health problem in Europe, affecting millions of workers. Across the EU27, 25 per cent of workers complain of backache and 23 per cent report muscular pains.
MSDs are caused mainly by manual handling, frequent bending and twisting, heavy physical work and whole-body vibration. “Lighten the load” supports an integrated management approach with three key elements. First, employers, employees and government need to work together to tackle MSDs. Secondly, any actions should address the ‘whole load on the body’, which covers all the stresses and strains being placed on the body, environmental factors such as cold working conditions, and the load being carried. Thirdly, employers need to manage the retention, rehabilitation and return to work of employees with MSDs.
The price of MSDs to workers, employers and governments is huge. For the employee, they cause personal suffering and loss of income; for the employer, they reduce business efficiency; and for the government, they increase social security costs.
‘There is a strong correlation between workers’ health, wellbeing and quality of work on the one hand, and economic prosperity,’ says Jukka Takala, Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
‘Although weekly working hours are decreasing, the pace of work is increasing.
Lighten the load culminates with the European Week for Safety and Health at Work from 22 to 26 October 2007, with a range of activities and events across Europe.
The campaign also features the Good Practice Awards which recognise organisations that have made outstanding and innovative contributions to tackle MSDs. The Agency will announce the winners at the campaign’s closing event in March 2008.
For more information, see the campaign website at http://ew2007.osha.europa.eu