THE European Commission wants to force councils to give lollipop ladies and park attendants sunscreen and parasols.
A directive being scrutinised by MEPs would oblige employers to check how hot it is each day and gauge the strength of ultraviolet rays. If there is a risk to workers they must be given suncream, sunglasses, a hat, a T-shirt or even a parasol. Who would hold the parasol for the person holding the parasol has not been resolved.
The rule would affect thousands of companies and apply to builders, farmers, gardeners, park attendants, lifeguards, sports teachers, policemen, traffic wardens and even waiters.
Despite resistance from politicians and businesses, Commission officials say that the directive, which covers radiation from X-rays, lasers and volcanoes, as well as sunlight, should be accepted in full.
The parasol plan is contained in the “minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (optical radiation) 19th individual directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391 EEC”.
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The European Parliament’s employment and social affairs committee will discuss it on July 11 and 12. Its decision would then be ratified by a full session of the parliament in September.
Under the plan, companies would have to calculate the levels of exposure to UV rays and assess the risk to each worker. People with pale skin are more at risk, as are those with fair or red hair, freckles or a family history of skin cancer.
The European small business organisation UEAPME (Union Européen des Artisanats et Petites et Moyennes Entreprises), which represents 11 million firms, is lobbying Vladimir Spidla, the European Commissioner for Employment, and Günther Verheugen, the Commissioner for Enterprise and Commission Vice-President, to drop the “ridiculous” plan. The organisation said: “It is ridiculous to regulate for naturally occurring phenomena that are different in every country in the EU. Someone working on an island off Cyprus, for example, will have a different risk to someone in a café in the north of Sweden.”
The Federation for Small Business and the Forum of Private Business in Britain has also raised the issue with Alan Johnson, Trade and Industry Secretary, and David Blunkett, Work and Pensions Secretary.
Philip Bushill-Matthew, the Tory MEP for the West Midlands, said yesterday: “This is plain daft. You can’t legislate that all companies have to offer some clothing or suncream for people who have to work outside.”
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The Health and Safety Executive believes that the plan could affect one million people who regularly work outside.