2017 - 10 May

EPSU Social Dialogue and Collective Bargaining Conference

Quality Employment and Quality Public Services in the Prison Services Sector

10 May: 09.00-17.00

Venue: European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF)

Galerie AGORA, Rue du Marché aux Herbes 105 - 1000 Brussels

This workshop will focus on prison services and will provide affiliates an opportunity to discuss how to define quality employment in the sector and what are the priority issues for trade unions, including health and safety, staffing levels and training. For many this will be in the context still of austerity and how to achieve improvements in working and detention conditions with continuing pressure on public budgets.

This meeting is a follow-up to the conference organised by EPSU in January 2017 which provided for an initial exchange on the various themes that are relevant for any discussion around quality employment. A short report is available here.

Part of the project will involve background research that will focus on a small number of country case studies. The HIVA research unit at Leuven University has been contracted to work on this project and Monique Ramioul, the head of HIVA’s Work and Organisation Research Group will outline the research proposals and the approach to the case studies.

The meeting will also include a session on the role of management and a debate on updating EPSU common demands for better working and living conditions in prisons.

For background information on recent developments in prison services, please see here and the report we commissioned from the LRD on impact of austerity in prison services with a focus on health and safety, available in English, French and Spanish here. A presentation of the initial findings of that research was made at our last meeting in London in 2015.

Reimbursements – travel and accommodation: Funding from the European Commission will allow us to provide financial support for travel and accommodation costs to 15 participants, with priority going to affiliates from Central and Eastern Europe. The funding enables EPSU to contribute to travel costs with a maximum of 350 euros and to accommodation costs up to a maximum of 140 euros per night for a maximum stay of 1 night.

Languages: There will be active interpretation in English, French, Spanish and Italian, along with passive (you can speak but not listen to) German and Greek.

Gender equality: We would encourage affiliates to help us improve the gender balance at this event by nominating women delegates.

We hope that your trade union will participate and look forward to seeing you at the conference.

MEETING DOCUMENTS