Recruitment & organising
Strong public service unions are vital if we are to stand up for our values and our vision in our workplaces, sectors and communities. They are crucial in dealing with national, European and global institutions and in representing public service workers in national trade union centres and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). EPSU affiliates are more effective in negotiating and campaigning where they can count on an active membership, high union density or broad support from workers.
EPSU has been taking a range of initiatives to support affiliates, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, to build union power by developing recruitment and organising strategies and campaigns. This briefing, prepared for the 2019 Congress, covers recent work and current priorities. Our Organising and Campaigns staff, Agnieszka Ghinararu, Miloš Vlaisavljević and Artem Tidva, are working with affiliates to help them with advice, support and training and keeping them informed about new ideas on recruitment and organising methods.
Main topics addressed and decisions taken at the 50th Standing Committee Health and Social Services
This article summarises the main topics addressed at the meeting as well as the major decisions taken at the 50th edition of the EPSU Standing Committee "Health and Social Services" (SC HSS) on 27 February.
Social care workers call on strengthening the workforce perspective in the transition from institutional to community-based care
This article summarises the main topics addressed at the meeting of the EPSU Working Group Social Services on 26 February, with one focus on the transition from institutional care to community-based care and how to make this transition also work for the social care and health workforce.
Capacity building project for the hospital sector in Central, East and Southern Europe started
On 28 March 2019 EPSU participated, together with its representatives of the two national affiliates from Romania, Sanitas, and Croatia, HSSMS-MT, in the kick-off meeting of the joint HOSPEEM-EPSU project focusing on strengthening social dialogue in the hospital sector that will run in 2019 and 2020.
Disseminating results from joint work on health and safety and continuing professional development
On 3 December 2018 HOSPEEM and EPSU organised the social partners’ dissemination workshop focusing on the outcomes of two projects on health and safety and continuing professional developement.
Building union power – first Congress briefing
EPSU Congress Circular N°4 (2018) With less than nine months to go before next year’s Congress, EPSU is publishing the first in a series of briefings that will focus on our priorities and set the scene for some of the key Congress debates.
Social partnership solutions and good practice models to reduce psychosocial risks and burdens in health care
EPSU has supported a transnational project involving EPSU affiliates from six countries to promote social partnership solutions and good practice models to reduce psychosocial risks and burdens in health care.
Young workers building EPSU
Members of EPSU's young workers' network were active at the federation's Quality Employment conference last week, chairing debates and putting together a panel to discuss the key issues they are trying to address. Zahra Yusifli from Azerbaijan and Sven De Guise from Belgium chaired the discussions on digitalisation and low pay, while Zahra was also involved in the young workers' panel with Joe O'Connor from Ireland and Judit Zsigo from Hungary. They underlined the need for trade unions to look at how they communicated with young workers and what they were doing not just recruit them but also