Tag: social partners

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Activities, Projects Hospeem

OSH Project : detailed description

HOSPEEM and EPSU have been provided financial support from the European Commission for a joint project aimed at implementing one main priority of the work programme 2014-2016 of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector, i.e. the promotion of occupational safety and health. In this area, HOSPEEM members and EPSU affiliates have identified “psychosocial risks and stress at work” and “musculoskeletal disorders” as the two main focal topics.

The HOSPEEM-EPSU project “Assessing health and safety risks in the hospital sector and the role of the social partners in addressing them: the case of musculoskeletal disorders and psycho-social risks and stress at work” (n°VS/2014/0324) builds on previous experiences of joint initiatives/project and was inspired by:

  1. the format of the 2010/2011 Project “Promotion, awareness-raising and dissemination of the multi-sectoral guidelines to tackle third-party violence and harassment related to work” and the 2012/2013 Project “Promotion and support of Implementation of Directive 2010/32/EU on the prevention from sharps injuries in the hospital and health sector“
  2. the concept and approach of the technical seminar “Managing the ageing workforce: challenges, opportunities and experiences”, 27 April 2012. This seminar has set the scene with regard to national situations and has served to create a common understanding of the main issues at stake and action needed.

Aims & tools:

The aims of this project is to:

  • identify how actions aimed at preventing and managing these two occupational hazards can contribute to improved health as well as more attractive retention conditions
  • help members to assess the impact of these two occupational hazards on the management of their healthcare institutions and healthcare personnel and to identify effective actions
  • improve efficiency in the management of healthcare institutions and workplaces by reducing costs linked to loss of productivity, sick leave and occupational diseases within the healthcare sector.

The tools to achieve this objective are:

  • exchange of information/knowledge
  • identification of existing guidance/good practice with high potential for transferability and cost-effectiveness.

Specific objectives:

1. The action is aimed at implementing one of the two main priorities of the work-programme 2014/2016, i.e. occupational health and safety, and strengthen the role of European social partners in the hospital sector

2. The action will improve the functioning and effectiveness of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector. The exchange of knowledge will help create a common understanding of the situation and a common reflection on whether further actions are needed .

3. The action will contribute to the enhancement of awareness amongst employers and workers on the importance of a risk assessment with regard to prevention and risk reduction.

4. The results of the project will be disseminated within the EU Member States and towards the EU level. The results will also feed into the new EU strategic framework on safety and health at work that EPSU and HOSPEEM are expected to set out.

Timeline & phases:

This project runs from the 01.10.2014 to the 30.09.2016 and comprises five main phases:

Preparatory phase:

  • 2 October 2014, Brussels: Meeting of HOSPEEM and EPSU Secretariats (lead: HOSPEEM and EPSU)
  • 12 November 2014, Brussels: kick-off meeting of the Steering Group (lead: contents: HOSPEEM, organisation: EPSU)
  • October 2014 : publication of the call for tenders (lead: HOSPEEM).

Phase II: First event:

  • 25 March 2015, Paris : Social partners’ conference on approaches to the issue of musculoskeletal disorders  (co-organised by FEHAP and supported by HOSPEEM) Total number of participants: 90.

Phase III: Mid-term assessment and organisation of the second event :

  • 4 June 2015, Brussels: Mid-term assessment and organisational meeting of the Steering Group (lead: contents: HOSPEEM, organisation: EPSU)

Phase IV: Second event :

  • 10 November 2015, Helsinki: Conference on psychosocial risks and stress at work (co-organised by JHL, Superlitto and Tehy and supported by EPSU) Total number of participants: 90/100.

Phase V: Follow-up: Final evaluation and possible next steps: 

  • 3 March 2016, Brussels: Final Meeting of the Steering Group (lead: contents: HOSPEEM, organisation: EPSU)

Deliverables:

  • Two conference reports drafted by the expert and to be agreed upon by HOPSEEM and EPSU
  • Two brief documents drafted by  HOSPEEM and EPSU Secretariats summarising the main insight, conclusions and recommendations of each conference
  • Dissemination: Dedicated section of materials & guidance on the HOSPEEM and EPSU websites

 *** Back to main project page ***

 
This project has received funding from the European Commission
Activities, News Hospeem

EU-OSHA Healthy Workplaces Campaign

HOSPEEM is an official campaign partner  of the Managing stress and psychological risks at work – Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2014-2015 of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). The Europe-wide campaign aims to raise awareness of the problem and show employers and workers that stress and psychosocial risks can be successfully managed and prevented.

“Promoting occupational safety and health is a major priority for HOSPEEM, a priority that is even reflected in our 2014-2016 work programme. HOSPEEM is therefore strongly committed to making the Healthy Workplaces campaign a success. Together with the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), HOSPEEM is currently running a joint EU project aiming to assess the impact in the hospital sector of health and safety hazards, giving special attention to psychosocial risks and stress at work.

Being the second most frequently reported occupational hazard across the EU, psychosocial risks and stress at work negatively impact the health and well-being of workers and healthcare institutions. Ensuring safer and healthier working conditions is therefore a major challenge for the healthcare sector. For HOSPEEM, the Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress campaign is an opportunity to exchange information and knowledge and to identify existing good practice in this field.” says Tjitte Alkema, Secretary General of the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association (HOSPEEM).

How to get involved? There are a number of activities and events, find out more information on the Healthy Workplaces Campaign website. For you can watch the “Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress” video  or find useful tools and resources.

 

News Hospeem

The Dutch solution to the legal transposition of medical sharps

The development of Health and Safety Catalogues [arbocatalogus] is relatively new in the Netherlands. Dutch legislators have decided to give employers and employees at sector level a significant degree of responsability for health and safety policy. Centralised policy rules and regulations give way to sector-specific customisation. For example The Health and Safety catalogue for the hospital sector has been developed for all members of the Dutch Hospital Association (HOSPEEM Member NVZ- Nederlandse Vereniging van Ziekenhuizen) and organisations covered by the collective agreement of the hospital sector in the Netherlands. This Health and Safety catalogue also covers the use of medical sharps.

In the Netherlands the Dutch Working Conditions Act (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet) determines target requirements for safety and health at work and serves as a guideline. But the Health and Safety catalogue at sector level provides a description of the means and methods agreed upon by employers and employees to meet the target requirements of the Working Conditions Act. In the Health and Safety catalogue employers’ organisations and trade unions describe, on their own initiative, how they will meet the target requirements, including the use of medical sharps for the hospital sector. It is also possible to link a collective agreement with a Health and Safety catalogue and this emphasises the official nature of the Health and Safety catalogue.

To read more about the position of the Dutch Health and Safety catalogue in the Dutch Health and Safety legislation, download the summary.

To find out  what is a Health and Safety catalogue in the Netherlands, download the leaflet of the Dutch Labour Foundation (2007).

 

News Hospeem

A toolkit for Gender Equality in practice in the workplace across Europe

Equality between women and men is a fundamental principle on which the European Union has been built. Despite the progress made over the last decades, women’s employment rate is still below 60% in most EU countries, compared with almost 75% for men in 2012.

This toolkit is a one-stop online facility promoting a selection of a wide range of practices initiated at workplace level or by national social partners. The toolkit is linked to the four interconnected priorities of the Framework of Actions on gender equality signed by the EU cross-sectoral social partners in 2005:

  • Addressing gender roles
  • Promoting women in decision-making
  • Supporting work-life balance
  • Tackling the gender pay gap.

The toolkit catalogues a multitude of best practice initiatives, with a balanced perspective, in 25 different European countries, from all kinds of sectors, from large to micro enterprises, from all the different national social partners based on unilateral, bipartite and tripartite actions. Most of these have received local or national recognition for fostering gender equality. This online database was launched by BUSINESS EUROPE, CEEP, UEAPME and ETUC at a major conference in Madrid in May 2014.

Elvira Gentile, HOSPEEM Vice-Secretary General, ARAN, Italy:“The toolkit has a very concrete approach, because it collects 100 best practices from 25 European countries linked to the four above priorities and all stakeholders can consult the initiatives online, selecting those relevant to overcome their specific problems.”

Consult the toolkit here

 

Activities, Social Dialogue Hospeem

Cross-border recruitment and retention: HOSPEEM-EPSU code of conduct

The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association (HOSPEEM) have jointly signed a code of conduct on ethical cross-border recruitment and retention.

Through the code of conduct the European social partners in the hospital sector want to address inequalities and unnecessary burdens on healthcare caused by unethical recruitment practices. With this agreement they establish in the European hospital sector social dialogue a full commitment to promote ethical recruitment practices at European, national, regional and local level.

The choice of the world health day 2008 as the date for the official signature of the agreement is not casual. The cross-border movement of healthcare professional is indeed an increasingly expanding phenomenon that clearly goes beyond European borders. With that global scope in mind, the European social partners wish that the code becomes a source of inspiration inside and outside Europe’s borders and remind that, in addition to European and national legislation and collective agreements, the already existing ILO-conventions in this field should be taken into account, when looking for an appropriate framework to support ethical recruitment and retention practices.

The Secretary General of EPSU, Carola Fischbach-Pyttel, added that, “Healthcare services are an essential part of the European Social model, therefore all relevant actors must be committed to their fair and effective functioning. The contribution of health care workers to good quality healthcare is essential. Social Partners therefore need to address the various challenges different countries are experiencing in terms of health workers shortages and the reasons why healthcare workers decide to migrate. Strategies which promote adequate workforce supply in all countries should be supported. EPSU and HOSPEEM want to encourage, and as far as possible contribute to, the development and implementation of policies at local, national and European level with the purpose to enhance work force retention”.

The Secretary General of HOSPEEM, Godfrey Perera stated that, “The promotion of ethical recruitment practices all over Europe clearly calls for a multifaceted strategy, including not only social partners but also governments, regulatory and professional bodies and other relevant stakeholders at local, regional national and European level. However, with the present agreement European social partners also want to firmly commit to their own responsibilities. For instance, when using the services of external agencies only those with demonstrated ethical recruitment practices should be used for cross-border recruitment. In case exploitative practices occur, these agencies should be removed from agreed lists”.

The code of conduct is based upon 12 key principles and commitments:

  1. High quality health care, accessible for all people in the EU
  2. Registration and data collection
  3. Workforce planning
  4. Equal access to training and career development
  5. Open and transparent information about hospital vacancies across the EU
  6. Fair and transparent contracting
  7. Registration, permits and recognition of qualifications
  8. Proper Induction, Housing and standards of living
  9. Equal rights and non-discrimination
  10. Promoting ethical recruitment practices
  11. Freedom of association
  12. Implementation, Monitoring and Follow-up

Background

The launch of the European Social Dialogue in the Hospital Sector in September 2006 was a crucial step in the development of industrial relations in Europe, as it gave the recognized social partners EPSU and HOSPEEM the possibility to take joint actions in the field of human resources, employment and social policies by using the social dialogue instruments. It also gave employers and workers both jointly and individually the possibility to give direct formal input on EU polices affecting the hospital sector and its workers. As employers’ and workers’ representatives we (the social partners) also want to take up our responsibilities as European social partners according to the provisions of article 138 of the European Treaty. Policy initiatives on the field of cross-border health care have many social aspects and will affect management and labour. FULL TEXT: HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – EN

The document will be soon available in 13 languages  :
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – FR
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – DE
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – BG
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – CZ
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – ES
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – FIN
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – HU
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – NL
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – PL
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – ROM
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – RU
HOSPEEM-EPSU Code of conduct – SV

Example for the use and implementation of the EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct on Ethical Cross-border Recruitment and Retention from The Netherlands:

This table has been elaborated by NVZ (employers), ABVAKABO FNV, NU 91, CNV Publieke Zaak and FBZ (employees) to promote the implementation in The Netherlands : Table Dutch State of Play – EN , Table Dutch State of Play – NL

This presentation by Dutch social partners in the hospital sector describes the transposition of EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct on Ethical Cross-border Recruitment and Retention (2008) in The Netherlands: Slides by Elise Merlijn, ABVAKABO FNV, Rolf de Wilde, NU’91 and Tjitte Alkema, NVZ, 1 July 2011 – EN

Report on use and implementation of the EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct on Ethical Cross-border Recruitment and Retention (2008)

The document was adopted in the meeting of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector working group 3/2012 on 5 September 2012 by EPSU and HOSPEEM. Final Report Use and Implementation – EN

Other related documents – WHO Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel:

The World Health Organisation Code of Practice was unanimously adopted by the 63rd World Health Assembly in May 2010: WHO Code of Practice (2010) and User’s Guide (2011)

Documents on the implementation of the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel :

 

 

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