Faroese unions criticise insufficient workplace safety efforts

The Faroese Craftsmen’s Association has accused trade unions of failing to do enough to improve workplace safety, according to a report by Faroese public broadcaster KVF.

Suni Simonsen, the association’s chair, said employers bear primary responsibility for workplace safety but added that unions have not taken adequate action to prevent accidents.

“We cannot accept that so many fatal accidents occur,” Simonsen told KVF.

Elected this spring to the Faroese Work Environment Council, which advises authorities on new occupational safety regulations, Simonsen said the council meets only four times a year, limiting its ability to influence policy.

His comments came during an interview on KVF’s Degi og viku programme, alongside Jón Sigurdsson, chair of the Faroese Employers’ Association.