Results of Arbo in bedrijf 2007 survey 09.02.2009

A number of encouraging results have been achieved in working conditions in the Netherlands, according to the Arbo in bedrijf 2007 (Health and Safety in operation 2007) survey published in October 2008 by the Dutch Labour Inspectorate. It shows that 80 per cent of companies had an illness absenteeism policy in 2007. This is an increase over 2006 (79 per cent) and 2005 (76 per cent). The percentage of companies where employees lift heavy loads of 25 kilograms or more has declined slightly. Employees are also being exposed less often to harmful noise. In 2007 this occurred in 19 per cent of the companies, against 23 per cent in 2006. The same applied to exposure to hazardous materials. The number of companies where employees still suffer from this dropped by 4 per cent over 2006.
Dutch workers do however spend longer in front of a computer monitor. And this is not always a good idea for arms, neck and shoulders. The possibility of disorders arising from repetitive work and computer work can increase as a result. In 2007 employees in 67 per cent of the companies regularly performed work which could lead to arm, neck and shoulder complaints. This was 60 per cent in 2006 and ‘only’ 47 per cent in 2005. 
On 1 July 2007, 48 per cent of the companies had the legally obligatory risk assessment and evaluation (RI&E in its Dutch acronym) in place. Larger companies were more likely to have an RI&E than smaller ones, and because the larger ones employ more staff, the percentage of employees working in a company with an RI&E is 84 per cent overall. The results also show that the majority of companies without an RI&E do however take measures to avoid or limit workplace risks.

The entire survey can be read at www.szw.nl