Health and Safety, Social Dialogue
Social Dialogue and Staff Shortages on the agenda of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee in the Hospital and Health Sector
Almost 40 participants from EU and non EU countries, including Norway and the UK, exchanged information and views on the situation of workers and employers in their countries and on the European level.
Union wants to see collective agreements against sexual harassment
A new survey by the Vision trade union shows that just over one in 10 social workers say they have suffered sexual harassment in the past year. The union is concerned that the relevant legislation is not being applied and wants to see local collective agreements with more effective measures to tackle the problem. The survey also found that one in seven women between the ages of 20 and 29 say they have been harassed in the past year by someone who is not a colleague. Vision says that local collective agreements can be negotiated to address all forms of harassment, including that by third
First meeting of the year for the EU social partners for central governments: whistleblowers’ protection, digitalisation, violence and harassment on the agenda
At their meeting on 8 February, the EU social partners, EUPAE and TUNED, finalized and adopted a statement calling for an effective transposition of the EU directive on whistleblowers’ protection in central or federal governments
Social Dialogue package – promising at national level, disappointing at EU level
On 25 January, the Commission published a long-awaited package on “Strengthening social dialogue in the EU”, consisting of a Communication on EU level and a draft Council Recommendation on the national level of social dialogue
Health professionals’ union calls for action on violence
A survey for the SAHP trade union found that 43% of its members faced violent threats at some point in 2022 and 22% were subjected to actual violence at some point during the year. The research revealed that mental illness and the influence of alcohol and/or drugs are the most common factors in violent incidents. Worryingly only half of those subjected to threats or violence say that some form of report was made. The SAHP says that employers should always show zero tolerance for threats and violence against healthcare professionals and must increase the preventive work with risk assessments
Union highlights guidance on facing violent incidents
The Fp-Cgil public service federation has described the level of attacks on health workers as a national emergency. According to the INAIL institute for insurance against workplace accidents, in the last five years, there have been more than 12000 incidents at work classified as violence, aggression, threats and the like, with an average of about 2,500 per year, 75% of which affect women. The union argues that in this context, all preventive actions are indispensable and as part of its campaign “let's take care of those who care for us!”, the federation has reminded its members of the guidance