In this document you can find the highlights of the work of the HOSPEEM-EPSU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital and Healthcare Sector. In 2018 the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital and Healthcare Sector dealt with a wide range of topics in the framework of the EPSU-HOSPEEM Joint Work Programme and carried out project-related activities.
The first Regional Workshop of the HOSPEEM–EPSU joint project “Strengthening Social Dialogue in the Hospital Sector in the East, South and Central Europe”, took place on 14 June 2019 in Bucharest, Romania. The workshop was organised by Sanitas (EPSU affiliate, Romania) and co-organised by EPSU.#EUSocDia
The geographical focus of this first workshop was on Eastern Europe, specifically targeted at Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania. The event gathered around 30 participants, EPSU and HOSPEEM members as well as representatives from trade unions and employers from the four targeted countries and from beyond as well as academia. HOSPEEM and EPSU members from other EU member states were invited to participate to share their experiences.
Media release, agenda and video
Agenda
Media release
Video address by Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility (DG EMPL)
Presentations (As of 25th June 2019):
HOSPEEM-EPSU Joint project on strengthening social dialogue in the hospital sector, Simone Mohrs (European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association-HOSPEEM)
Introduction to the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector, Mathias Maucher (European Federation of Public Service Union-EPSU)
Discussion of draft fact sheets of Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland and priorities of participants, Marta Kahancová and Barbora Holubová (Central European Labour Studies Institute-CELSI)
The European Semester process, Mathias Maucher (European Federation of Public Service Union-EPSU)
Swedish good practice on the European Semester, Sandra Bergendorff (Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions-SALAR)
Discussion and exchange on challenges faced by social partners in the region (contributions from Sanitas in Romania, HOSPEEM, FTU-HS in Bulgaria with Slava Zlatanova’s presentation in EN and BG)
Report and fact sheets (Coming soon)
Fact sheets
Regional workshop report
Photos and graphics (Coming soon)
Photo gallery
Graphics: View Picture Gallery or download in PDF or JPEG
General
Strengthening Social Dialogue project description (2019-2020)
European Sectoral Social Dialogue activities overview (2006-2019)
EPSU has also published an article on this topic.
***Back to main project page***
This project has received financial support from the European Union
On 28 March 2019, HOSPEEM, EPSU and the project partners, Sanitas (EPSU affiliate, Romania), ARAN (HOSPEEM member, Italy) and HSSMS-MT (EPSU affiliate, Croatia) hosted the kick-off meeting of their new joint project in the field of sectoral social dialogue capacity building: “Strengthening social dialogue in the hospital sector in the East, South and Central Europe”.
The meeting was the occasion to discuss the capacity building needs of sectoral social partners in the hospital sector in the three targeted regions as well their involvement in the European agenda, including the European Semester.
The need to strengthen representativeness of the sectoral social partners’ activities also by sharing best practices, ensuring a bottom up approach and the need to foster the capacities of social partner organisations for social dialogue to be successful were among the topics discussed.
The importance of guaranteeing the link between the sectoral social partners’ national priorities and the European Semester process was raised by the participants. It was highlighted how social partners should be supported in creating and ensuring a social dialogue infrastructure, an enabling political and social environment where they can identify their priorities and bring them to the EU level.
The event gathered around 20 participants, governments’ representatives from the Permanent Missions to the EU, and DG EMPL representatives from the Social Dialogue Unit and from the Unit on Employment and social aspects of the European Semester.
The agenda of the meeting, the presentation of the project and the overview of the main HOSPEEM and EPSU joint activities in the European Sectoral Social Dialogue are now available.
EPSU has also published an event page for this meeting.
***Back to main project page***
This project has received financial support from the European Union
On 13 February 2019, during the first meeting of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector, HOSPEEM and EPSU adopted the final report on the “Follow-up on the Directive 2010/32/EU on the prevention from sharps injuries in the hospital and healthcare sector” as part of the current HOSPEEM-EPSU Work Programme 2017 – 2019.
The report provides information on the role and impact of the national social partners during relevant stages of the transposition and implementation of the Directive.
The report builds on 30 replies from HOSPEEM members and EPSU affiliates (in 3 cases joint replies) from 20 countries, including from outside the EU also from Norway and Serbia. It also contains recommendations to the national and EU-level social partners, to European institutions (in particular to the European Commission and EU-OSHA) as well as to EU MS.
The report published in 2019 is the second follow-up activity carried out by HOSPEEM and EPSU in relation to the Directive 2010/32/EU after their joint project in 2012 and 2013. More information on the project and the project report from 2012-2013 is also available.
HOSPEEM and EPSU have been provided with financial support from the European Commission for a joint project in the field of sectoral social dialogue capacity building: “Strengthening social dialogue in the hospital sector in the East, South and Central Europe” in the years 2019 and 2020.
Objectives
The project will provide an appropriate framework to continue addressing capacity building needs of social partners. The work will serve to help build the capacity of the hospital sector social partners in 14 targeted countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia) by exchanging on and collecting the relevant topics and priorities in view of the EU-level sectoral social dialogue.
It will also be instrumental to discuss and evaluate the core priorities and outcomes of the sectoral dialogue between EPSU and HOSPEEM for the targeted regions, and to assist in feeding into the sectoral social dialogue committee for the hospital/healthcare sector (SSDC HS) the social dialogue interests and important topics in a “bottom-up” process to support the aim of building capacity.
Download project description (2019-2020)
Implementation of the action
The project will run over 24 months. This will allow the delivery of a full project cycle including preparatory activities, the implementation of the work plan and the dissemination of results.
The project foresees the organisation of three Regional Workshops, the first in June 2019 in Bucharest (Romania), the second in November 2019 in Rome (Italy) and the third one in June 2020 in Zagreb (Croatia). The preparation and organisation of the first event will be supported by Sanitas (EPSU affiliate, Romania), the second by ARAN (HOSPEEM member, Italy) and the third one by HSSMS-MT (EPSU affiliate, Croatia). Furthermore, a dissemination workshop will take place by the end of 2020 targeted to a wider audience in Brussels (Belgium).
Orientation and guidance will be provided by an Advisory Committee composed by representatives from the affiliated associations Sanitas, ARAN and HSSMS-MT. The Advisory Committee will have the task – together with a team of expert (CELSI) – to help the Secretariats to prepare, support, monitor and evaluate project-related activities.
Timeline
Expected results
As main deliverables, the project will produce a report from each Regional Workshop to be drafted by the expert and to be agreed upon by the Advisory Committee and the HOSPEEM and EPSU Secretariats.
Another deliverable is a final report summarising the main insights, conclusions and recommendations from the three Regional Workshops and the final dissemination workshop.
14 fact sheets of the targeted countries collecting national social partners’ priorities and challenges trough survey and desk research
The information gathered the outcomes of the workshops’ debates, the contents of the reports on the Regional Workshops will be fed back into the regular meetings of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector (SSDC HS) to be further discussed and assessed, in particular in view of their use to influence EU-level policymaking.
Implementation
The kick-off meeting took place in Brussels (organised by HOSPEEM). The morning session of the meeting was attended by external stakeholder such as Permanent Representations to the EU and European Commission, whereby the afternoon session was reserved for the members of the Advisory Committee.
The first workshop took place in Bucharest (co-organised by Sanitas, supported by EPSU).
The second workshop will take place in Rome (co-organised by ARAN, supported by HOSPEEM. Registration opens in September 2019 for this workshop.
The third workshop will take place in Zagreb (co-organised by HSSMS-MT, supported by EPSU. More information will follow in due course.
The last workshop will take place in Brussels (organised by HOSPEEM). More information will follow in due course.
Documentation
European Sectoral Social Dialogue activities overview (2006-2019)
Download project description (2019-2020)
EPSU also has set up a page with the project-related information.
This project has received financial support from the European Union
In this edition of the newsletter, you will find all the video links of the Vilnius Conference on OSH, news from our Members in the Netherlands, the UK and Italy and relevant EU News, events and publications for hospital employers.
HOSPEEM Newsletter 2018 – Issue 4 (16 October 2018)
MEDIA RELEASE
In their first Working Group meeting of the European Social Dialogue in the Hospital Sector, on 04 April 2018 HOSPEEM and EPSU looked back to the signing of the EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct on Ethical Cross-Border Recruitment and Retention on 8 April 2008 and renewed their commitment to promote, guarantee and defend decent recruitment and working conditions for migrant workers, from the EU and from outside the EU, in hospitals and healthcare facilities across Europe.
HOSPEEM and EPSU issued a Joint Media Release on the 10 years anniversary of the Code of Conduct. It represents an important instrument to support the free movement of workers across the European Union while preventing unethical competition between the Member States and employers in terms of cross-country recruitment process, fair and transparent contracting and the induction of migrant workers at the new workplace. This also holds for their equal and non-discriminatory treatment regarding labour law, social protection provisions and the access to training and career progression and the freedom of association.
The EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct on Ethical Cross-Border Recruitment and Retention was inspired by social partner-based or/and public policy tools already in use in different European Union Member States. At international level, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 21 May 2010 adopted and set into practice the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. The Global Code, non-binding in nature, addresses a number of similar issues already covered with in the EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct.
In the meeting on 4 April 2018, HOSPEEM and EPSU members reiterated their commitment to the 12 key principles of their 2008 Code of Conduct and to the promotion of ethical recruitment and retention practices at European, national, regional and local level in the upcoming years, both in their own work and in the broader context of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Tjitte Alkema, Secretary General of HOSPEEM reflected on the impact of the Code of Conduct: “10 years ago, our Code of Conduct was an inspiration for the work of the World Health Organisation. Nowadays, given the migration flows to and within the European Member States, it is still very relevant.”
EPSU General Secretary Jan Willem Goudriaan welcomed the constructive dialogue there has been with the European employers since the Code of Conduct. “We sought to ensure decent working conditions for all, to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers and to make sure public health systems are not undermined by unfair recruitment practices. Our Code was and is a significant contribution to achieve sustainable quality care for all.”
At the meeting on 4 April 2018, several HOSPEEM members and EPSU affiliates commented on the use and positive effects of the EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct on Ethical Cross-Border Recruitment and Retention. They also referred to different models of how the 12 principles of the Code of Conduct have been incorporated in their national contexts, either into legislation, by means of collective agreements and/or by using enterprise-based agreements.
Kate Ling, NHS Confederation, United Kingdom, gave an overview on the use by the employers in the NHS and about the effects of the Code of Conduct in the United Kingdom, showcasing some good practice examples: “NHS organisations should only use recruitment agencies that comply with the Code, which includes guarantees to give overseas recruits good induction, training and employment protection. A key tenet of the UK Code is that recruitment of staff from abroad should not damage healthcare systems in developing countries. Active recruitment from developing countries shouldn’t take place unless there is a government-to-government agreement. For example, the UK and India have a scheme called Earn Learn and Return where staff from India can come to the UK to fill shortages in specialist areas, and in return they get the opportunity to gain specialist expertise and develop skills that they can then take back with them after they leave the UK to improve healthcare in India. So, both countries benefit.”
Tjitte Alkema wrapped up the Working Group meeting, reflecting on the freedom of movement of persons in the European Union and the respective aim of the Code of Conduct: “We are in the European Union: one of the fundamental rights is the freedom of movement of people within the European Union. Our Code of Conduct is trying to establish a fair system of mobility in which people are not exploited and countries are not suffering from the mobility of workers. The Code of Conduct is however only as strong as the partners that support it. It only works if we also identify incorrect application, put them on the table and make them transparent. The WHO Code and the Code of Conduct of the Social Partners are complementary in the European setting.”
EPSU has also published an article on the event and the 10-year anniversary celebration.
In this document you can find the highlights of the work of the HOSPEEM-EPSU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital and Healthcare Sector. In 2017 the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital and Healthcare Sector dealt with a wide range of topics in the framework of the EPSU-HOSPEEM Joint Work Programme and carried out project-related activities.
The “VADEMECUM – A Practical Guide for EU Social Partner Organisations and their National Affiliates to Commission support to EU Social Dialogue -2017” provides basic information on the instruments related to EU support to social dialogue and includes the existing rules to be respected when using these tools. Download the guide.
