The Staff Association and health, safety at work and environmental protection at CERN
While the Staff Association (SA) is naturally in favour of and very concerned by environmental issues, in this article we will focus primarily on the health and safety at work of members of the personnel.
Why? Because in the past few years, the Management has attempted to reduce the scope of concertation by no longer including occupational health issues in the Standing Concertation Committee (SCC), even though there are topics affecting all the personnel and causing real problems.
The SA must return to being a key partner in these matters, in accordance with the Staff Rules and Regulations (SRR)[1]: “General matters concerning the personnel shall be subject to discussion between the Director-General and the Staff Association. Discussion shall mean a procedure whereby the Director-General and the Staff Association concert together to try to reach a common position. […] Any proposed measures of a general nature regarding the conditions of employment or association of members of the personnel shall be the subject of discussion within the SCC.”
Very divergent points of view
Safety Code A11
In its previous version, the A11 code stated: “Scope of Application: The Director-General, after consulting the Standing Concertation Committee, the Safety Policy Committee (SAPOCO) and the Management Board, sets up the administrative procedure to be applied following a serious accident or incident. […] 4.4.1 The Director-General sets up an Accident Board and Fact-Finding Group to advise on the steps and decisions to be taken. The membership and terms of reference are given in the Annex 2. The members of the Board shall comprise: i) the Director-General or a delegated Chairman; ii) a Director responsible for administrative and/or technical matters; iii) the Director responsible for disciplinary matters; iv) any other Director deemed appropriate by the Director-General; v) the Leader of the Technical Inspection and Safety Division (TIS); vi) the Leader of the Human Resources Division; vii) the Leader(s) of the Division(s) concerned with the accident; viii) the Legal Adviser; ix) the President of the Staff Association; x) the Chairman of the Fact-Finding Group, who shall present the Fact-Finding Report; xi) a Secretary to the Board appointed by the Director-General.”
Without any concertation, the text of the new Specific Safety Instruction Major safety incident classification, investigation, analysis, and follow-up (SSI-SIM-2-1)[2] has been modified and now specifies:
- participation of the SA President if a recommendation from the Major Safety Incident Analysis Group (MSIAG) implies a change of the SRR, or an Administrative Circular (AC) or an Operational Circular (OC), or the initiation of a disciplinary procedure;
- systematic communication of the conclusions and recommendations endorsed by the Director General to the SA President.
Safety of the personnel is not only part of the employment conditions but is also of the highest importance for members of the personnel. These modifications should have been submitted to the SCC for concertation. Furthermore, under no circumstances should the SA's ability to carry out its mission of representing and defending the personnel be restricted.
The Medical Service
We won't reiterate the SA's oft-repeated request to concert with the Management in a SCC meeting on the change of strategy applied to the Medical Service, which was refused on several occasions.
Yet we have many requests in this regard:
- The SA advocates a medical team made up of members of the personnel, Staff Members. The occupational doctor should be the referring physician both inside and outside CERN.
- The medical approach, while it may be based on risk management in activities, must also take into account the specific needs of individuals.
- Particular attention must be given to mental health.
- Conflicts of interest must be avoided.
- Very careful management of the confidentiality of medical data must be guaranteed.
- The infirmary could play a greater role in supporting the whole CERN community.
While we are pleased to note that the backlog of medical examinations has been cleared up, not all of these points have yet been submitted for concertation.
Well-being at work, one of the priority issues
The psychosocial risks that members of the personnel may encounter at work, and their evolution through the years, remain a priority for the Association.
In collaboration with the University of Lyon, the Association has therefore launched a new survey on this subject, based on the "Work Well- Feel Well" survey conducted by the Human Resources Department in 2018.
The results of the survey will be published by October 2024 and will be used to draw up proposals for action in order to improve the well-being of all members of the personnel.
Safety policy
It should be noted that no presentation on safety policy has been made to the SCC since 2014. The SA requested that all modifications related to safety policy that have taken place since 2014 be presented to the SCC. This request has gone unheeded.
Some will point out that the Association is already represented on the two bodies that play a key role in this area:
- SAPOCO (Safety Policy Committee) is an advisory body to the DirectorGeneral on matters related to the CERN Safety Policy. It advises the DG on the definition of the CERN Safety Policy and on appropriate measures for its implementation. It contributes to the establishment and revision of the CERN Safety Rules, as specified by the relevant procedures.
- DSOC (Departmental Safety Officers Committee) brings together departmental safety officers and safety officers from large experiments to ensure overall consistency and to exchange best practice in the implementation of CERN's safety rules, to monitor progress toward CERN's safety objectives, and provide feedback to SAPOCO and the HSE department to ensure continuous improvement in the field of safety.
Health and Safety Commission
Your representatives in the Health and Safety Commission (of the Staff Association) and in official bodies such as SAPOCO and DSOC are actively involved in improving your working conditions, which can have a direct impact on your health.
The commission includes:
- Examining questions related to CERN's health and safety rules and their operational application.
- Examining any document or file requiring an opinion on Occupational Health & Safety and Environmental Protection issues, at the request of a different body of the Association or which come to its attention.
- Preparing, together with the official representatives appointed by the Association, for the meetings of CERN bodies related to health and safety at work and environmental protection, including preparing and submitting proposals to official CERN bodies based on suggestions and comments received by members of the personnel and the Staff Council.
The Health and Safety Commission presents its work to the Staff Council, and in particular any proposals requiring debate, guidance or approval by the Council.
Conclusion
The presence of the Staff Association in these Committees is important to raise awareness of the expectations and problems encountered by members of the personnel in matters of health and safety, to be a force for proposals on these issues, and to facilitate effective communication between the Organization and the personnel.
The Staff Association, however, strongly believes that while the presence of our representatives on these bodies is essential, it is not sufficient to effectively defend the interests of members of the personnel in relation to Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Protection.
The SA is requesting that strategic questions related to health, hygiene and safety be discussed on a joint basis via the concertation process within the Standing Concertation Committee. The Staff Association reiterates and will continue to make this request to the SCC until it is heard.
Finally, as safety is everyone's business, so don't hesitate to contact your delegates to share your observations, proposals or any other points or comments you may have on these various issues.
