Union highlights safety risks in homes for mentally ill

Denmark

A new study by the FOA public services union has found that three out of four workers in care homes for the mentally ill have suffered some form of physical abuse while eight of 10 have been subject to threats of violence. The union is particularly concerned that many workers are often in situations where they are working on their own. This raises the key question of staffing levels. The union is calling on the government, employers and trade unions to work together on a national plan to tackle the problem.
Read more at > FOA (DK)

More like this

Apr. 04, 2018

Unions commit to address mental illness at work

Netherlands

The FNV trade union and other workers' organisations have signed up to a manifesto that commits them to negotiate measures to address mental illness at work. Around half the population is thought to have some kind of mental condition related to anxiety, depression or burnout. If nothing is done to tackle this in the workplace then employees' mental health may deteroriate, posing a risk to their continuing employment. Unions want to be able to ensure that a safe working environment means also providing support to address mental health problems.

 S
Oct. 27, 2016

Union highlights risks of outsourcing

Finland

(October 2016) Public service union JHL has written to local authority members across the country warning of many of the problems created by outsourcing. It quotes survey evidence indicating threats to service quality coming from cuts to jobs and working time as well as trends towards using less skilled staff. While noting that over 100 municipalities have brought services back in-house, JHL says there is still a trend towards outsourcing which, in healthcare, is now dominated by a small number of big companies.

 S