Insurance and Occupational Health & Safety

1. Insurance and Occupational Health & Safety Baltic - Nordic Conference "Effective preventive system on health and safety at work based on the European Community Strategy for 2002-2006", 14 - 15 October 2004, Tallinn. Bernt Fallenkamp

2. The presentation’s point of departure • The new Danish Act on Industrial Injury Insurance of 2003 • The new Danish Act on Health & Safety at Work of 2004

3. The industrial injury system – before 2003 (1-2) Case Administration Lengthy and unacceptable Personally disabling and marginalising in connection with labour market attachment Expensive to society and unaccptable – passive provision in stead of regular employment

4. The industrial injury system – before 2003 (2-2) Injury concepts – accidents and occupational diseases • Incomprehensible and unjust system • Clear causality – injuries rejected

5. New reform of the Danish industrial injury system - from 2004 Three general aims: • To bring down the time spent om case administration • To increase the number of recognised accidents • To increase the number of recognised attrition injuries (occupational diseases).

6. Reform of the health & safety system 2004 • Screening of all companies • OHS-duty phased out • Health and safety smiley • Social partner agreements • WRA-system • Modernisation of training on health & safety at work • Binding advance notice

7. The reform of the occupational health & safety system – LO’s assessment • Top-down, emphasising the efforts ot the system • Puts emphasisis on finding ”the worst cases” – this is okay, but: • The reform lacks the all-inclusive efforts of the companies themselves • There are only a few specific suggestions on how to strengthen the all-inclusive efforts of the companies, • A large group of companies are left in the lurch for up to 7 years.