Health and safety of those engaged in agriculture

Recommendation 785 (1976)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

SeeDoc. 3806, report of the Committee on Agriculture. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 28 June 1976.

Thesaurus

The Assembly

1. Having taken note of the report of its Committee on Agriculture on the health and safety of those engaged in agriculture (Doc. 3806) ;

2. Considering that the number of accidents occurring each year in agriculture prove that farming must be considered a high risk occupation ;

3. Considering that the risks of accidents are increasing, due to the necessity for the farmer to introduce more and more highly sophisticated agricultural machinery and techniques ;

4. Being alarmed that children and other family members are very often involved in farm accidents ;

5. Being concerned by the fact that the rate of temporary and permanent work incapacity is higher in agriculture than in industry ;

6. Considering that most fatal accidents are due to the use of vehicles, and in particular tractors ;

7. Considering that the use of sometimes highly toxic chemicals in agriculture involves a great deal of responsibility and hazards for the farmer ;

8. Considering that animals, shotguns, electricity, fire, the felling of trees and the use of various tools are other important causes of accidents in and around the farm ;

9. Being aware of the efforts already undertaken by the member states to promote the safety and health of those engaged in agriculture ;

10. Appreciating the initiative of the European Communities which led in 1974 to the organisation of a "European Agricultural Safety Week" ;

11. Welcoming the work already undertaken by the Council of Europe's Sub-Committee for Industrial Safety and Health and the Sub-Committee on Poisonous Substances in Agriculture (Partial Agreement) in the field of pesticides and occupational risks for young people,

12. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers :

ask all Council of Europe member states to implement the results achieved by the committees mentioned in paragraph 11 above ;

nvite the governments of the member states :

a to equip agricultural research centres with the appropriate means to carry out detailed studies for the promotion of safety in agriculture ;

b to harmonise their agricultural accident statistics with a view to making them more easily comparable, specifying whether only employees or self-employed farmers and their families are also covered ;

c to take the necessary steps to ensure that agricultural machinery is properly maintained and serviced at regular intervals ;

include in the work programme of its appropriate intergovernmental committees, and in particular the Social Committee (Partial Agreement) and its sub-committees, with due regard to the work already being taken up by the European Communities, ILO, OECD and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), activities on problems such as :

a drafting regulations obliging manufacturers to produce safer agricultural machinery, gear and chemicals ;

b setting up rules for better enforcement of safety regulations ;

c the general promotion of safety education for all those engaged in agriculture ;

d the availability and use of proper protective clothing and apparel ;

e the exchange of information on new sources of accidents in agriculture, in order that manufacturers may take due account of the relevant statistics ;

f the organisation throughout Europe of a "European Farm Safety Year", and the promulgation of a "European Agricultural Safety Charter".