NEW STATE-REGIONS AGREEMENT: IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE DRAFT

In recent days, the draft relating to the new State-Regions Agreement on training in the field of occupational safety, required by Law No. 215/2021, known for having introduced the obligation for all Companies to “identify” Supervisors, has been circulating online.

The new Agreement aims to bring together and supersede the previous ones, in particular:

• the two Agreements of 21 December 2011, training for Workers and Employers who take on the role of RSPP;
• the Agreement of 22 February 2012 on work equipment;
• the Agreement of 7 July 2016 relating to RSPP and ASPP;

We therefore wish to analyse the scenarios contemplated in the draft of the new Agreement, identifying its key points.

Training providers

The definition of training providers in the Agreement remains substantially unchanged compared with Chapter 2 of the 2016 Agreement.

In addition to the provisions of the Agreement of 20 March 2008, training providers must have accumulated at least three years of experience in occupational safety training. This requirement is not mandatory if only training for Workers, Supervisors and Managers is provided, while it becomes mandatory in all other cases.

A training project for each course must be developed, with specific requirements defined in Part IV, point 2.6.

A maximum limit of 30 participants per course is established (previously it was 35). The instructor/trainee ratio for practical activities is now 1/5, unlike the 1/6 provided for equipment in the previous agreement.

The other substantive obligations remain similar to those of the 2012 and 2016 Agreements, but administrative details are provided for the management of documentation and the content of certificates.

The draft of the new State-Regions Agreement clarifies that Employers may take on the role of training provider, but they must use qualified trainers, while Employers who meet the requirements for directly carrying out SPP tasks may directly train their own Workers, Supervisors and Managers.

Workers, Supervisors, Managers and Employers

Course for Workers:

The contents of the course intended for Workers are also extended to:

• members of family businesses pursuant to Article 230-bis of the Civil Code;
• self-employed workers who carry out activities pursuant to Article 2222 of the Civil Code;
• direct farmers operating in the agricultural sectors;
• partners in simple partnerships operating in agriculture;
• craftsmen and small traders, as provided for by Article 21 of Legislative Decree 81/2008.

However, participation in these courses is optional and not mandatory.

The two-part structure for these courses, general and specific is confirmed, and the content of the general module remains unchanged. However, the draft abandons the differentiation by risk levels, stating that specific training must have a minimum duration of at least 6 hours and must refer to the risks identified by the risk assessment.

Course for Supervisors:

From a regulatory point of view, its minimum duration increases to 12 hours – it was 8 – and its content is that of the previous Agreement, reorganised. However, the legislator leaves the Employer the possibility of further increasing the number of hours, according to the risks actually present in the Company.

Course for Managers:

the course for Managers is reduced to 12 hours – it was 16 – and also becomes valid with reference to the obligations under Article 97 of Legislative Decree 81/2008 (obligations of Employers of contracting companies, which require adequate training for the Managers of these companies on construction sites). Its contents are those provided for in the previous Agreement, reorganised. It is expanded with an “additional construction-site module”, with a minimum duration of 6 hours, which addresses the topics of Title IV of Legislative Decree 81/2008, but it is not clear whether attendance is mandatory in relation to the obligations provided for by Art. 97.

Course for Employers:

Finally, as expected, a module for Employers is defined, with a minimum duration of 16 hours, which may also be supplemented here by an “additional construction-site module” with a minimum duration of 6 hours. The basic course is organised into two modules: Legal-regulatory and OSH organisation and management.

RSPP, ASPP and Coordinators:

The training of the Employer who acts as RSPP is renewed: in the past, training paths were divided into modules associated with three different risk levels: low 16 hours, medium 32 hours, high 48 hours, and the amount of training to be attended was identified based on the ATECO 2002 sector of belonging, associated with one of the three risk levels.

The new agreement provides for a common module lasting 8 hours. To this must be added attendance of one of the supplementary modules relating to: Agriculture – forestry – animal husbandry, Fishing, Construction or Chemical – Petrochemical, which addresses specific topics in these areas.

The process for training an RSPP/ASPP remains unchanged, with attendance of modules A and B, and C only for the RSPP.

Content of training for coordinators during design and execution:

The draft of the new State-Regions agreement also takes care to specify the content of training for Coordinators during design and execution. The duration of the modules remains unchanged; there are some differences in the definition of the contents.

 Confined spaces and work equipment:

The  requirements for the course for Workers operating in environments suspected of pollution or confined spaces are defined, starting from the minimum duration of 12 hours. A legal-technical module is provided to illustrate hazards and their controls, and a practical module to enable the acquisition of the skills necessary for the use of equipment and PPE.

The draft does not introduce substantial changes to the Agreement of 22 February 2012 relating to training in the use of particular categories of work equipment, except for the introduction of a one-hour legal-regulatory module, taken from the technical module so as not to change the total duration of the courses, and the inclusion of new equipment (overhead crane, etc.).

Training updates:

The  obligations of 6 hours of five-yearly update training for Workers, Managers and Employers, and 6 hours every two years for Supervisors, are confirmed. The Employer who performs the duties of the prevention and protection service must attend 8 hours of update training every five years; ASPPs 20 hours, RSPPs and coordinators 40 hours, again every five years. Workers operating in confined environments and environments suspected of pollution and Workers using work equipment must attend 4 hours on a five-yearly basis.

For a transitional period of twelve months, it will be possible to deliver courses according to the previous Agreements; Employers must complete mandatory training within twelve months of the entry into force of the new agreement, and courses for Workers assigned to confined spaces that have already been delivered are recognised if compliant with the new Agreement.

In any case, we remind you that, to date, this Agreement is still in draft form. Consequently it is not known how official its content may be, nor is it yet possible to hypothesise an entry-into-force date.

We will promptly send you any further updates.

CSIA S.r.l. – Occupational Safety – Turin – Milan