Contexts and Determinants of the Management of Occupational Safety and Health in European Workplaces

Abstract The focus of this special issue of Policy and Practice is on the influence of national contexts on the practice and effectiveness of occupational safety and health management. This paper adds to the discussion, presented in previous papers in this issue, of contextual determinants at the national level by taking a comparative Europe-wide focus. Using a recent study as its basis, the paper considers the development and implementation of process-oriented occupational safety and health regulation against its political, economic and labour relations backdrops in different EU member states. In particular, it draws out the significance of change (and its pace) in all of these areas as a determinant of occupational safety and health management and practice. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role of the European Union as a key determinant, highlighting the tensions between its regulatory, political and economic policies and approaches in the rapidly changing world of work.