Worker representation and consultation on health and safety: An analysis of the findings of the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks

The involvement of workers and their representatives in consultation on arrangements for managing risks to health and safety at work is a key element of the requirements of the EU Framework Directive 89/391. While there are differences in provisions between member states that reflect national differences in regulatory styles and labour relations cultures and practices, their long standing presence in some countries allows opportunity to assess the extent to which such involvement is effective, the conditions that make it and the barriers that militate against effectiveness. However, possibilities to undertake such analysis quantitatively and comparatively are limited in practice by the extent to which robust survey data exist across all countries within the EU.