The devastating impact of work-related cardiovascular diseases

Question for written answer E-001777/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Anthony Smith (The Left)

In 2021, the WHO and the ILO published the Joint Global Monitoring Report on the number of deaths and adverse health effects linked to long working hours, the first study of its kind. The report estimated that, in 2016, 745 000 people died either of strokes or heart disease because they worked at least 55 hours a week.

The WHO and ILO also reported that the number of workplace deaths from strokes and heart disease is constantly increasing.

The French Government's Decree of 9 July 2024 runs counter to protecting workers' health, as it stripped grape pickers of their weekly rest period.

On 12 September 2024, the European Heart Network and the European Society of Cardiology signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a view to developing a European cardiovascular health plan.

Both Ms Von der Leyen and the Presidency of the Council of the European Union have discussed cardiovascular diseases, the former in her July presentation of the new Commission's political guidelines.

Could the Commission therefore ensure that Europe's cardiovascular health plan prioritises the fight against work-related cardiovascular diseases?

Submitted: 20.9.2024