Some forty trade unionists and researchers coming principally from Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Spain and Italy took part in a seminar organised jointly by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and the Belgian association Santé & Solidarité. The purpose of the event was to present projects involving participation by both researchers and workers in the service of a common goal, namely, to make the impact of work on health visible. Of some 30 initiatives submitted to the organisers following a call for proposals, seven were selected and presented on January 30 in Brussels.

In an opening presentation, ETUI researcher Laurent Vogel deplored the fact that the scientific and institutional instruments in place to date have not served to promote public awareness of the considerable impact exerted by our work on our health. He pointed out that the official occupational disease statistics represent merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of the myriad links between work and ill health. Existing provision in this sphere fails to tackle numerous relevant aspects and issues such as the true state of working conditions, the gender dimension, the fate of workers excluded from work on grounds of ill health, or of those who have already entered retirement.