In their last Joint Statement the social partners in the hairdressing sector welcome the cooperation between the European Commission, the European Agency for Occupational Health and Safety at work (EU OSHA) and the social partners regarding the autonomous implementation of their European Framework Agreement on health and safety signed in 2016.

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In the joint statement the social partners confirm that the following actions have been engaged in good cooperation:

1. improve the effective enforcement of the EU Cosmetics Regulation and raise awareness to ensure safety of cosmetics used in the hairdressing sector
2. improve occupational health and safety situation in the hairdressing sector by possibly reviewing the Guidelines relating to the Regulation 2016/425 on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
3. develop sector guidance to support the practical application of the SPA for workers and employers in the hairdressing sector.
4. consider the SPA in the activities developed by EU OSHA
5. cooperate with the Senior Labour Inspectors’ Committee (SLIC)

A project to support the implementation of the Framework Agreement on health and safety was granted through the social dialogue call for proposals for “promoting the autonomous implementation of the European framework agreement on occupational health and safety in the hairdressing sector”. The project has two main strands:

• research for the identification and prioritisation of hazardous and harmful chemical substances contained in cosmetic products
• promotion and monitoring of the autonomous implementation of the agreement at national level

The social partners monitor the implementation of the agreed activities in the framework of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee on personal services.

Background

The social partners requested the implementation of their 2016 agreement on health and safety at EU level through a Council Decision. In January 2018, the Social partners were offered to implement their Agreement with the support of the Commission services through jointly agreed activities .

This solution is based on a collaborative approach to identify what could be the most appropriate actions to foster implementation of health and safety measures in the sector. The Commission and the social partners in the sector agreed in June 2019 about the activities and processes useful for the autonomous implementation of the social partners agreement.