Occupational Safety, Commission Approves Bill

The Employment and Productive Activities Commission of the Regional Council of Campania has approved unanimously the unified Bill on occupational safety.

The Commission has adopted the orientation, expressed by President Caldoro and by the Regional Minister Nappi, to unify the various proposals received by the Council and the Executive Board.

After the skill assessment of the Balance Commission of the Regional Council, the text will be presented at the chamber for the final adoption.

The Bill has been shared with the social parties, who have intensely participated in the definition of a highly innovative legislative model.

With the new dispositions, Regione Campania will be able to create a general reorganisation and development of the monitoring activities on the subject, also through the computer linkage of all the active instruments and the national and regional databases.

In particular, the linkage will be useful also for inducing small and medium-sized firms to adopt ethical codes and safety management models at workplaces.

Furthermore, for the first time in Campania, a register of “safe firms” will be created, for those firms that apply preventative measures and invest in safety, and, for this reason, benefit from, among other things, prizing mechanisms in the assignment of public tenders.

“To award the firm – underlines the regional Minister for Employment and Training Severino Nappi – that chooses to work in a regular and transparent way and invest in safety, does not only represent a choice for legal civility, but also a way to fight illegal labour, irregularity and unfair competition of those who ‘play’ with people’s lives. This Bill can represent, in the difficult field of occupational safety, an extraordinary step forward for Campania, as it will give us the possibility to provide ourselves with new instruments, and to adopt rules for safe, innovative, and groundbreaking firms. I feel obliged to thank not only all social parties, with whom we continue working in perfect harmony for Campania’s sake, but also president Baldi and the entire III Commission for the sensitivity and sense of responsibility demonstrated, irrespective of memberships, who have permitted us to aim at merit and contents, things that, now more than ever, are needed by people”.

“The path of the Bill on occupational safety in the Commission – adds the president of the III Commission Giovanni Baldi – represents an important example of politics for the citizens. We look forward, we look carefully at small firms and we accompany them in a difficult period, with definite and awarding rules for those choosing legality. Conscious of President Paolo Romano’s sensitivity, I will keep on working so that the Bill will reach the chamber as soon as possible, also because it is a proof of the actual cooperation between Council and Executive Board”.

“The Bill approved by the III Commission – says the PD Regional Councillor Antonio Amato –ends positively the initiative “Viaggio sui Luoghi di lavoro”, promoted by the Regional Council over the past legislature. From this experience, a Bill built from the grassroots with trade unions, employers, employees and designated bodies has seen the light. Today that Bill is unified with the Executive Board’s text presented by the Regional Minister Nappi. Also thanks to the work of president Baldi and of all the other members of the Commission, it has been realised a useful institutional connection that has produced an important and innovative Bill. We wait confidently for the completion of the procedure, and, considered the financial coverage of two million Euros, we are sure that, before the summer break, this region will finally have a really useful law to protect workers’ health and safety. An important step to fight that enormous tragedy, too often forgotten, represented by ‘morti bianche’ (deaths on job)”.