“The four-year INRS Chairmanship of the PEROSH network will end on 1 January 2015. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the PEROSH members for their continued work that contributed to the development of the network. The joint effort of the PEROSH institutes led to the prioritisation of seven occupational safety and health (OSH) research challenges for 2020 and stressed the importance of coordinating OSH research in Europe. With four new projects launched this year, the PEROSH partners are now involved in 13 research projects which support healthy, safe, innovative and sustainable workplaces. This year, I was also very pleased to see the directors of the 12 PEROSH research institutes renew their commitment to cooperate on OSH research by signing the new 2014-2018 agreement in May in Paris.
In the context of globalization and the changing world of work, job insecurity and work intensification appear to be major OSH risk factors in many European countries. OSH research centres in Europe are playing a key role in improving the understanding of specific risks and diseases and how they may be effectively controlled and prevented. The PEROSH network therefore has a major role to play in coordinating OSH research in Europe and will also continue to cooperate proactively with the European Agency for Safety and Health at work (EU OSHA) to make Europe a healthier and safer place.
I will be pleased to hand over the chairmanship of the network to my German colleague Dietmar Reinert, Director of IFA and I am confident that under his chairmanship, further strides will be made to increase the influence of the network and strengthen actions in the field of OSH. To conclude I would like to thank all the researchers, scientific directors and directors general of the PEROSH network for their strong commitment to improve the quality of OSH research and increase the EU-wide dissemination of results. Thanks also to Claire Dubois, Coordinator of the PEROSH network for the diligent support she has provided me over the course of my chairmanship for the last two years.”
Didier Baptiste
PEROSH Chairman
