Directive 89/391/EEC is a European Union directive with the objective to introducing measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work. It is described as a "Framework Directive" for occupational safety and health (OSH) by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

History and effect

The proposal for the directive was adopted by the European Commission on 24 February 1988 and transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, which consulted the European Economic and Social Committee. The proposal was approved with amendments in the first and second readings by the European Parliament, after which the Commission adopted amended proposals. The Council approved the re-examined proposal on 12 June 1989. Directive 89/391/EEC entered into force on 19 June 1989 and member states were obligated to bring into force laws, regulations and administrative provisions to comply with it by 31 December 1992. The directive was amended three times by legal acts, in 2003, 2007, and 2008. Directive 89/391/EEC was listed among the ten EU legal acts that most improved the lives of people in the European Union according to a 2016 survey of 72 members of the European Parliament by Die Tageszeitung.

Individual directives

The directive authorizes the Council of the European Union to adopt individual directives in areas listed in its annex. As of 2018, 20 individual directives were adopted: