Origin of the initiative
In Europe, the “zero accident” concept was on the rise in the 90’s as part of the development of political strategies in terms of road safety. Sweden was one of the first countries to officially implement this concept in its road safety policy while using for the first time the term of “Vision Zero”.
In Luxembourg, the Ministry of Labour, the Accident Insurance Association (Association d’assurance accident, AAA), the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (Inspection du travail et des mines, ITM), the Employers Association (Union des Entreprises Luxembourgeoises, UEL) and the trade unions LCGB and OBGL reached an agreement in 2003 to promote workers’ safety, health and well-being. This action plan to fight occupational accidents lasted from 2003 to 2007.
The main objectives set in comparison to 2002 were to substantially decrease the frequency rate of work and commuting accidents (10.66% in 2002) and to reverse the upward trend of commuting accidents (5,689 in 2002). While these objectives were reached by 2007, the 2014 figures show that they had largely been exceeded. Indeed, in 2014, the frequency rate of work and commuting accidents had dropped to 5.37% and the number of commuting accidents had decreased to 3,516.
Even though the frequency rate of work accidents (number of recognised accidents * 100 / number of standardised full-time workers) significantly dropped throughout the past years, i.e. from 27.44 in 1960 to 5.37 in 2017, in all sectors, it has not moved since 2011.
In 2014, during the world congress on occupational health and safety in Frankfurt, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) took up the VISION ZERO concept and extended it to work accidents.
In March 2015 in Luxembourg, the whole Government signed a National road safety charter with the aim to contribute to the European objective to decrease the number of deaths and seriously injured by 50% on European roads by 2020. In line with this action plan, also known as Vision Zero, the Luxembourg Employers’ Association (Union des Entreprises Luxembourgeoises, UEL) and its National institute for sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (Institut National pour le Développement durable et la Responsabilité sociale des entreprises, INDR) signed with the Government on 1st October 2015 a partnership to help prevent commuting accidents.
The national VISION ZERO charter for the promotion of occupational health and safety was signed by key national partners on 24th March 2016. This took place at the 10th forum on occupational health and safety, in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses the Hereditary Grand Duke and the Hereditary Grand Duchess. VISION ZERO is the national prevention strategy for work-related and commuting accidents as well as occupational diseases. This vision has found worldwide consensus.
In September 2017, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) launched the campaign Vision Zero Global to improve safety, health and wellbeing at work. The initiators of the national strategy VISION ZERO (AAA, UEL, INDR) are also official partners of this global community.
Given the achievements of the first phase (2016-2022) and the importance of this topic, the initiators of VISION ZERO have decided to continue their efforts in the field of occupational health and safety and to focus specifically on the risk sectors. This new phase of VISION ZERO 2023 – 2030, supported by the government, was presented at the 15th Occupational Health and Safety Forum organised by AAA, UEL and INDR on 26 October 2022.
