EC rap on work site accidents
The European Commission has taken the first step toward bringing legal action against Greece over lax work safety conditions in the country, which has the worst rate of work site deaths in the European Union. Synaspismos Left Coalition Euro MP Alekos Alavanos said yesterday that, in response to a question he tabled in the Strasbourg European Parliament on whether EU regulations on work safety controls are being properly implemented, the Commission said it had sent Athens a warning letter on the matter. This is the first move in a three-step process for taking a country to the European Court of Justice. Alavanos, who is running for Parliament in Sunday’s election, said Greece has the highest number of work site deaths per work force in the EU, with three fatal accidents this week alone. The Commission, he said, warned Athens that the 1989 regulations on improving work safety and workers’ health conditions must be fully implemented. It added that anything else would constitute a breach of EU law, and could result in a suit at the European Court.
