Health and Safety

The Fp-Cgil, Cisl-FP, Uil-Fpl and Uil-Pa public service federations are mobilising for the national strike on 9 December. The unions say that years of recruitment freezes have created staff shortages and mean that public services need around 500000 extra workers. The unions are also calling for action to increase permanent employment with around 170000 workers on precarious contracts. Health and safety are also vital with unions wanting action on personal protective equipment, reduced workloads and measures to tackle harassment. Finally, the federations are calling for a renewal of the

EPSU joined with the ETUC and other European and global trade union organisations in a strong call for action to end violence against and harassment of women. The ETUC called for laws against workplace harassment to be updated to protect women working from home against online abuse made possible by surveillance techniques being used by employers. EPSU outlined the many ways in which the pandemic has taken a heavy toll on women not only as the backbone of health and social care provision across Europe but also often facing the double burden of dealing with extra childcare while working from

The OZZPiP nurses' and midwives' union looks set to declare disputes in different regions across the country in a process that could lead to a national strike. The union is angry that legislation on bonuses for work with COVID-19 patients has been amended and could see many nurses lose out if they work with COVID-19 patients but in hospitals that are not designated as COVID-19 facilities. Furthermore, the union is calling for allowances to go to all nurses and midwives that come into contact with COVID-19 patients and not just staff who are specifically assigned to care for these patients

The vpod/ssp public services union, as part of the Health Alliance campaign, has called on the Federal Council to refrain from any watering down of labour legislation and to provide comprehensive protection for health personnel, including special measures for pregnant women and other vulnerable people. The Alliance is also calling for massive financial investment in working conditions, a corona premium for all health workers and action to address structural deficiencies in the healthcare system and tackle precarious work in the sector. vpod/ssp (DE) vpod/ssp (FR)

The Cgil, Cisl and Uil Pa public service federations have declared a one-day strike on 9 December covering public health, and local, regional and central government. New collective agreements are due to be negotiated across these sectors but the unions argue that the government has failed to guarantee funding to cover any negotiated improvements. They also say that there is no commitment from the government to ensure safety at work, to increase employment or to tackle precarious work. Fp-Cgil (IT)