In 2001, the International Labour Organisation introduced the Convention 184 for an “Agreement on Occupational Safety and Health in Agriculture”. The Convention is an international agreement developed with the participation of the social partners in agriculture. It is an important instrument introducing a set of basic provisions guiding national authorities on how to improve occupational health and safety in this sector at risk.
To date, only 7 European Member States have ratified the convention.
The social partners of agriculture in Europe – EFFAT for workers and GEOPA for employers – are strongly committed with the safety, health, and well-being of the workers in the sector. As a result of our pledge, in 2022 we launched an Online interactive Self-Assessment tool (OiRA) in collaboration with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). The OiRA tool enables companies and small farmers to carry out risk assessments and obtain support to improve the health and safety of workers in agriculture.
Today, we call on national authorities and social partners to work together towards the ratification of the Convention in all EU Member States.
To support this, we appeal to the competent European authorities to promote and support the ratification among Member States.
Finally, social dialogue has continuously proven to be the most effective tool to guarantee fair and sustainable working conditions in European agriculture. Therefore, we call on the European and national authorities to decisively support the operational and financial capacity of the social partners and the promotion of social dialogue in the sector.
Artigo publicado originalmente em Copa Cogeca.
