No paper without skilled, healthy and safe people

Today, CEPI and industriAllEurope launched a good practice report on health and safety in the European paper industry at a conference in Germany. CEPI – the Confederation of European Paper Industries – and industriAllEurope – the European Trade Union Federation – worked jointly on this new report compiling a set of 22 exemplary practices that were collected from members under the auspices of the paper sector social dialogue, funded with the support of the European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

“In both our organisations - CEPI and industriAllEurope - we believe in the merits of awareness raising and sharing experiences. We hope that this report will be one of the reference tools for health and safety managers in the European paper industry. It should contribute to the indispensable effort to reduce health and safety risks at work in the sector on the route to “zero accidents”, said Teresa Presas, CEPI Director General.

The good practice report addresses different types of pulp and/or paper mills and the health and safety issues they may carry, as well as various kinds of activities (daily operation, transport and handling, maintenance) and can in most cases be adapted and transposed. The good practices included in the report are not exhaustive, but the report paves the way to identify more practices to be shared. It also illustrates the benefits of constructive co-operation towards a common goal.

“Producing pulp and paper in Europe requires the use of a wide range of resources, of which ‘people’ are the most important”, mentioned Jorma Rusanen from industriAllEurope in his presentation. ”We both - industriAllEurope and CEPI - invite our members to use and discuss the proposed practices. We also invite other industries to read the report and adapt the good practices to their own circumstances.”

This report is part of the EU-OSHA campaigns towards healthier and safer workplaces. It will be distributed to all pulp and paper mills in Europe.