Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

‘One In, One Out’ is a danger to workers’ health and safety

Per Hilmersson 24th October 2019

The new European Commission’s ‘One In, One Out’ approach to ‘burdensome’ legislation would stymie progress towards safer, healthier workplaces.

One In, One Out
Per Hilmersson

The incoming European Commission’s working methods statement, published in September, announced that the executive would ‘develop a new instrument to deliver on a “One In, One Out” principle’. It elaborated: ‘Every legislative proposal creating new burdens should relieve people and businesses of an equivalent existing burden at EU level in the same policy area.’

That may sound simple, but in the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) we are concerned that it makes no sense in practice. No policy area demonstrates that better than health and safety at work. What does ‘One In, One Out’ mean? That whenever a new piece of legislation to protect workers is introduced, an existing law will be dumped? How can that be reconciled with progress towards safer and healthier workplaces?

Already, back in July, we regretted that the work programme Ursula von der Leyen presented to the European Parliament, as incoming commission president, failed to include proposals on occupational safety and health. Trade unions were pleased to see the commissioner-designate for jobs, Nicolas Schmit, remedy that omission, when he assured MEPs at his hearing in the European Parliament that health and safety would be ‘an absolute priority’, including legislative measures.

Because there’s a lot to do—as this European Week for Safety and Health at Work attests. Over 3 million workplace accidents occur every year in the EU, with almost 70 deaths per week, and 120,000 people die annually from occupational cancers. Over a quarter of workers in Europe experience excessive work-related stress and 23 per cent believe that their safety or health are at risk because of their work.

Even though the European Pillar of Social Rights guarantees that ‘workers have the right to a high level of protection of their health and safety at work’, and in spite of the initiatives taken by the Juncker commission, too many Europeans still suffers from work-related illness and accidents.



Don't miss out on cutting-edge thinking.


Join tens of thousands of informed readers and stay ahead with our insightful content. It's free.



Ill-concealed attempt

The ‘One In, One Out’ initiative looks just like a reframing of the notorious ‘REFIT’ strategy. Evolving out of the original 2002 Better Regulation programme, this was always condemned by the ETUC as an ill-concealed attempt to deregulate and weaken key legislation for workers’ rights.

It was largely due to so-called Better Regulation that moves to amend and update the 2004 EU directive on carcinogens and mutagens were stalled for almost ten years. In October 2013, the commission stopped developing exposure limits for cancer-causing chemicals because of a ‘REFIT’ review. In the end it was largely trade-union pressure that forced legislators to act.

Since then, three rounds of amendments have constituted an important victory for trade unions and the workers they represent. In 2016, binding occupational exposure limits for an additional 11 cancer-causing substances were added. Further changes followed in 2017 and 2018, and the updated 2019 directive on the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work should be in force in the member states by July 2021.

These rules could be the difference between life and death for some workers, and lives cannot be played off against business costs or a mechanical principle governing the amount of legislation. Now we want progress in limiting exposure to all the 50 priority cancer-causing substances identified by unions, while some existing limits are still too high. The EU must aim for a zero work-related cancer target. That can only be achieved through legislation, but not at the cost of other vital safety measures.

Workers’ rights

The EU’s Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work expires next year, and now is the time to set priorities for a renewed strategy. The new parliament, commission and council must demonstrate they are serious about protecting workers’ health and safety.  

For example, last year the ETUC called for a directive to combat stress and psychosocial risks in the workplace. In June this year, the International Labour Organization adopted a new convention on violence and harassment at work, and these recommendations also need legal enforcement.

An ambitious revision of the EU directive on asbestos to protect all workers from exposure—with a focus on removal—should be another ingredient in the new strategy.  

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are an under-reported but growing workplace hazard, affecting an estimated 44 million workers in Europe and costing up to 2 per cent of EU GDP. For workers, they can range from daily aches and pains to disabilities forcing people out of work. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work is currently carrying out a four-year study of MSD, and the EU must be ready to legislate on recommendations for prevention and treatment. All workplace accidents and illnesses have a cost, and prevention would bring economic benefits for both businesses and society at large.

New risks

Changes in work patterns also bring new risks. Where employers try to evade their responsibility for workers’ safety, for example through online platforms and bogus self-employment, legislation is required to clarify their role. And as climate change threatens to raise workplace temperatures, decent working conditions and protection should be legally enforced.

Finally, as well as a zero target on work-related cancer, the new strategy should embody a zero vision for fatal accidents at work.

In short, a ‘One In, One Out’ rule could endanger society and citizens by delaying, blocking or weakening much-needed measures. Regulation should not be perceived as a ‘burden’ by the EU, but as a vehicle of progress towards a more sustainable and social Europe.

No-one should risk death or injury due to work. The ETUC urges the new commission to focus on improving the lives of working people, rather than on arbitrary legislative targets.

This column is sponsored by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)

Per Hilmersson

Per Hilmersson is deputy general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u42198346ae 124dc10ce3a0 0 When Ideology Trumps Economic InterestsDani Rodrik
u4219834676e9f0d82cb8a5 2 The Competitiveness Trap: Why Only Shared Prosperity Delivers Economic Strength—and Resilience Against the Far RightMarija Bartl
u4219834676 bcba 6b2b3e733ce2 1 The End of an Era: What’s Next After Globalisation?Apostolos Thomadakis
u4219834674a bf1a 0f45ab446295 0 Germany’s Subcontracting Ban in the Meat IndustryŞerife Erol, Anneliese Kärcher, Thorsten Schulten and Manfred Walser

Most Popular Articles

u4219834647f 0894ae7ca865 3 Europe’s Businesses Face a Quiet Takeover as US Investors CapitaliseTej Gonza and Timothée Duverger
u4219834674930082ba55 0 Portugal’s Political Earthquake: Centrist Grip Crumbles, Right AscendsEmanuel Ferreira
u421983467e58be8 81f2 4326 80f2 d452cfe9031e 1 “The Universities Are the Enemy”: Why Europe Must Act NowBartosz Rydliński
u42198346761805ea24 2 Trump’s ‘Golden Era’ Fades as European Allies Face Harsh New RealityFerenc Németh and Peter Kreko

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious development and reduce economic, social and territorial disparities between the regions of the Union, and the backwardness of the least favoured regions with a particular focus on rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition and regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as outermost regions, regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions.

READ THE FULL POSITION PAPER HERE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

With a comprehensive set of relevant indicators, presented in 85 graphs and tables, the 2025 Benchmarking Working Europe report examines how EU policies can reconcile economic, social and environmental goals to ensure long-term competitiveness. Considered a key reference, this publication is an invaluable resource for supporting European social dialogue.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
The evolution of working conditions in Europe

This episode of Eurofound Talks examines the evolving landscape of European working conditions, situated at the nexus of profound technological transformation.

Mary McCaughey speaks with Barbara Gerstenberger, Eurofound's Head of Unit for Working Life, who leverages insights from the 35-year history of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out!


It is time to take action and to forge a path towards a Socialist renewal.


European Socialists struggle to balance their responsibilities with the need to take bold positions and actions in the face of many major crises, while far-right political parties are increasingly gaining ground. Against this background, we offer European progressive forces food for thought on projecting themselves into the future.


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss the transformative power of European Social Democracy, examine the far right’s efforts to redesign education systems to serve its own political agenda and highlight the growing threat of anti-gender movements to LGBTIQ+ rights – among other pressing topics.

READ THE MAGAZINE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

BlueskyXWhatsApp