Health and Social Services, Social Services
Health and Social Services (HSS) is a large and diverse sector that encompasses a wide range of services.
The Social Services aspect includes activities which are mainly to do with Long Term Care (LTC), Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), community health services, care homes for older and disabled people and social work. In addition, we work in establishing and providing support for European Works Councils in private, not for profit and public care homes. EPSU Social Services Sector represents care workers across Europe, including health care assistants, workers in all types of care homes, child care workers and social workers . We organise in public, non-for-profit and private services.
EPSU is the recognised European social partner organisation for workers in the hospital and health care sector throughout the European Union.
Adam Rogalewski is the EPSU Policy Officer for the sector and Samantha Howe is the Policy Assistant for Social Services. The President of the EPSU Standing Committee for Health and Social Services is Kirsi Sillanpää of TEHY (Finland) and the Vice-Presidents are Yolanda Gil of CC.OO (Spain), Dietmar Erdmeier of Ver.di (Germany), and Razvan Gae of Sanitas (Romania). You can also get their contact details here. -
EPSU organizes event to demand better working conditions for Care Workers
On Tuesday, 4th May, EPSU together with Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung (FES), the Foundation for European Progressive Studies, Kommunal and Arena Idé organized a conference to raise awareness of the extraordinary challenges care workers had to face during the COVID-19 pandemic.
EPSU participates in conference on the future of social services after COVID-19
On Thursday, 29 April, EPSU participated in an event organized by the European Policy Centre and other civil society organisations on the importance of the European Pillar of Social Rights for the social services sector in the wake of COVID-19.
Members of regional, national and European Parliaments call for COVID-19 inquiry committees
EPSU together with the NGOs Age Platform and the European Disability Forum organized an event to call on the European Parliament to investigate the shortcomings and mistakes made that led to the tragic spike of deaths in care homes across Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
EPSU Standing Committee on Health and Social Services discussed how to better support health workers during the pandemic and making the COVID- 19 vaccine a public good
On the 11 March 2021 members of the EPSU Standing Committee on Health and Social Services met for the first time this year to discuss the situation in the sector at the national and the EU level.