Principles for shaping working conditions according to ILO conventions and EC directives

The strategy for the improvement of occupational safety and health is presented. The role of the state and the workers in shaping working conditions has changed over the years, and this process is traced through ILO and EC documents. There must be a coherent up-to-date national policy in this field. Safety and the protection of the workers' health is perceived by the Community legislation not only in the terms of the worker's individual interest, but also from a social viewpoint, consisted in striving for general improvement of the work environment. The Community regulations aspire to satisfy the public interest, and directives set the maximum level of protection but also serve as minimum standards not infringing the more favourable national regulations. They define requirements that should already be met at the planning and designing stages.