September 16, 2002—Workers in the countries that are candidates to enter the European Union consider their health and safety to be more at risk because of their work than workers in the European Union do (40% as opposed to 27%), reporting higher levels of fatigue and musculoskeletal problems. Workers in the candidate countries also work longer hours, on average 43.61 hours per week compared to 38.25 hours in the EU.
These are some of the findings of The First Survey on Working Conditions in the Candidate Countries, reportedly the first comprehensive overview of working conditions in the candidate countries by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
The Foundation noted that work organization tends to be less client-driven and more hierarchical in the candidate countries. The organization also said some of the survey conclusions can be attributed to differences in labor market structure. The surveys show that 21% of the active population in the candidate countries works in the agricultural sector, as opposed to 5% in the EU.
The survey is based on the same methods as the three working condition surveys that the Foundation has carried out in the European Union in 1990, 1995 and 2000, allowing for comparisons to be drawn between the two blocks of countries. Some 11,000 workers in candidate countries were interviewed face-to-face for the survey in 2001.
According to the report, gender segregation is less prevalent in the candidate countries, and a higher proportion of women work: 46% compared to 42% in the EU.
A summary of the report may be downloaded from The European Foundation.
