A national agreement for prevention in the construction industry

The State, the Cnamts (National Council for the Protection of the Environment), the SIST BTP (School of Construction and Public Works), and the OPPBTP (National Office for Public Works and Public Works) signed a four-party agreement on December 14, 2011. The objective is to develop a national and regional partnership between the various stakeholders in prevention, making the initiatives dedicated to construction companies even more effective.

For several years, prevention structures committed to the construction industry have been working together on the ground to raise awareness among companies and to help implement occupational risk prevention actions. The recent reform of occupational health services and the main guidelines of the Occupational Health Plan 2 led the General Directorate of Labor (DGT), the National Health Insurance Fund for Salaried Workers (Cnamts), the Professional Prevention Organization for the Construction Industry (OPPBTP) and the inter-company occupational health services for the construction industry (SIST BTP) to sign a national framework agreement on December 14, 2011, supported by the National Multidisciplinary Group for Occupational Health in the Construction Industry (GNMST BTP).

This national agreement allows those involved in construction industry prevention, whether institutional or in the field, to launch a coordinated action plan specifically dedicated to occupational health in construction companies, particularly SMEs and micro-enterprises.

COORDINATE THE RESOURCES MADE AVAILABLE TO COMPANIES

Companies must take steps to prevent risks and hardship. The agreement aims, among other things, to coordinate the resources made available to them in order to implement concrete measures. Joint actions will be implemented regionally based on an operational cooperation model.

Indeed, the partners are present on the ground through the Carsat/Cram/CGSS, the Direccte, the SIST BTP and the OPPBTP agencies. The local actions carried out by the partners will be monitored and coordinated at the national level by a steering committee that will ensure the sharing of best practices.

This agreement provides that the signatories may occasionally integrate other partners, according to their expertise, for both national and regional projects.

PRIORITY PREVENTION THEMES

The coordinated actions mainly concern the risks identified as major in the Work Health Plan 2, the Convention on objectives and management of Health Insurance

– Occupational Risks the guidelines of CTN B 1, the National Plan of Coordinated Prevention Actions 2 and the Horizon 2015 project of the OPPBTP. 

The actions are aimed in particular at musculoskeletal disorders and chemical risks, particularly those associated with carcinogens, mutagens, and reprotoxicants (for example: wood dust and welding work). Particular attention is paid to the issue of preventing professional disengagement.

They also cover the areas of road risk, addictive behavior, psychosocial risks, as well as physical risks such as falls from height, burial or crushing.

Press contacts:

• OPPBTP: Wenefrid Lebrun - 01 46 09 26 76 - wenefrid.lebrun@oppbtp.fr
• Health Insurance: Marie-Eva Planchard - 01 72 60 22 88 - marie-eva.planchard@cnamts.fr
• SIST / BTP: Philippe Morel - 03 26 48 42 11 - philippe.morel@gasbtp.com
• Ministry of Labour: Claude Nisenbaum - 01.44.38.25.17 - claude.nisenbaum@travail.gouv.fr

1 The National Technical Committee for Building and Public Works – or CTN B – is made up of equal numbers of representatives from professional federations and trade union organizations in these activities.

2 The 2009-2012 National Plan of Coordinated Prevention Actions of the Health Insurance – Occupational Risks aims to reduce the claims rate for four risks – occupational cancers, musculoskeletal disorders, road risk and psychosocial risks – and for three sectors of activity: construction, temporary employment and mass distribution.