Abstract
This paper considers the regulatory challenges of achieving EU’s strategic goal of eliminating the causes of occupational diseases through the regulation of hazardous chemical agents and substances which could impair the health of workers. Across EU Member States the increasing normalisation of non-compliance with occupational exposure limit (OEL) standards are linked to economic constraints and poor knowledge of the usefulness of OEL standards among workers, and small scale entrepreneurs. The practice of non-compliance is explored by considering the threats that non-compliance with OEL standards could pose for the protection of workers from work-related diseases. Through that assessment, the paper further reviews the institutional role of trade unions in promoting the high standard of workplace protection legally envisaged for workers who could be exposed to hazardous chemical agents. In light of the historical functions that trade unions play in promoting compliance with and enforcement of occupational safety and health (OSH) rules in many national OSH regimes in the EU, it is argued that in theory, the recent socio-economic trends in EU countries do not alter existing legal rules for OSH standards entrenched in EU law. In conclusion, it is argued that in practice however, there are potential changes that could be seen in the future in terms of the ways in which the emerging socio-economic trends regarding non-compliance to OEL standards affect i) future judicial pronouncements on disputes regarding work-related diseases, and ii) the social, professional and institutional roles of trade unions in preventing occupational diseases across EU Member States.