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EDITORIAL
Dear reader,
In November, the HOSPEEM-EPSU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector (SSDC-HS) and the HOSPEEM General Assembly/Steering Committee marked a formal end to the social dialogue calendar for 2021. I was elected as Secretary General of HOSPEEM by the members of the General Assembly for a three-year mandate period until end of 2024. I am very grateful for the support expressed by members and I look forward to continuing our joint efforts as a strong European employers’ organisation, I am convinced important results are laying ahead of us in the years to come.
This winter brought some changes to HOSPEEM. John Delamere from HSE, Ireland, was nominated Vice-Secretary General until mid-2022. HOSPEEM said goodbye to Tjitte Alkema, whose extraordinary contribution over the past 13 years has been highly appreciated and highlighted during our November statutory meeting. We are pleased to welcome Tore Eugen Kvalheim from Norway as the representative of SPEKTER to HOSPEEM from November 2021. HOSPEEM also would like to express its gratitude for the work of Bjørn Henriksen from SPEKTER in the past decade.
In 2022, HOSPEEM is looking forward to work closely with EPSU to successfully continue working on the current Work Programme. In this edition of the newsletter, you can find more on the outcomes of the 2019-2021 HOSPEEM-EPSU project on Strengthening Social Dialogue in the East, South and Central Europe. You can also read EU News, events and publications relevant for hospital employers. In our section dedicated to HOSPEEM member’s news, you are always welcome to send us your contributions for the next newsletters.
I wish you all a pleasant winter break, enjoy your reading!
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Secretary General of HOSPEEM
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HOSPEEM NEWS
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HOSPEEM held its Steering Committee and General Assembly on 29 November 2021 in a hybrid format. The HOSPEEM members discussed updates from the HOSPEEM expert groups, including health workforce vaccinations and the practical implementation of the medical sharps Directive.
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The HOSPEEM-EPSU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital and Healthcare Sector took place on 30 November 2021 and focused on updating the Framework of Actions on Recruitment and Retention. HOSPEEM Members and EPSU Affiliates also approved the extension of the HOSPEEM-EPSU Work Programme until 2023.
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"It is an honour to be re-elected Secretary General of HOSPEEM and I am very grateful for the support expressed by members across Europe and by our Italian partners, e.g. FIASO – Federazione Italiana Aziende Sanitarie e Ospedaliere.
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(...) In my quality as ARAN representative, founder Member of HOSPEEM, I strongly believe in the key role of social dialogue in the health sector at national and EU level. In this period of global emergency due to the pandemic, it is essential for health employers to bring their voice up"
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Marta Branca, ARAN, Italy
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“I believe that Social Dialogue works well in the health sector. However, the employer side agenda requires to be robustly articulated at all times, and this will be a priority of mine as Vice Secretary General.I am also very anxious that HOSPEEM expands its membership base, particularly in areas of Southern and South-Eastern Europe.
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Other significant issues that require focus are the recruitment and retention of health sector staff across Europe, the ageing workforce and the need for greater harmonisation of professional qualifications. I am also very supportive of the continuing rollout of CPD and LLL for all health service personnel.”
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John Delamere, HSE, Ireland
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The webinar 3 on Risk assessment, an EU health and safety obligation on 25 October 2021 was organised by HOSPEEM, showcasing the work of the Dutch social partners from the health sector. The webinar 4 on 16 December explores the connections between digitalisation and third-party violence and harassment.
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The HOSPEEM Webinar on “Partnerships in Digital Skills Development” took place online on 17 November 2021, gathering around 40 participants from across Europe, including employers’ organisations from the HOSPEEM membership, EU institutions and other relevant stakeholders.
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The webinar focused on how the management processes and the related use of digital tools have been changing and adapting, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. It also analysed the impact of these changes on healthcare professionals and patients. All the materials are available online.
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This HOSPEEM-EPSU project on Strengthening Social Dialogue in the hospital sector aimed to provide an appropriate framework to address capacity building needs of social partners in 14 targeted countries from 2019 until 2021(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. The final report was published summarising the main insights, conclusions and recommendations:
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14 fact sheets of the targeted countries were also published collecting national social partners’ priorities and challenges trough survey and desk research:
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The annual HOSPEEM–HOPE meeting took place online on 19 November 2021. The meeting was an occasion to exchange the main policy priorities at the EU level and discuss common challenges in the hospital sector. HOSPEEM Leadership team was composed of: Marta Branca, HOSPEEM Secretary General, John Delamere, HOSPEEM Vice-Secretary General and Sylvie Slangen, Steering Committee Member and responsible for HOSPEEM daily management.
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NEWS FROM MEMBERS
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The Social Partnership Forum (SPF) in the UK brings together partners to contribute to the development and implementation of policy that impacts the health workforce, i.e., Health Education England, NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS Employers and NHS Trade Unions in England. Working in collaboration brings new opportunities, as highlighted in the “Meet the Finalist webinar” this Autumn. It allowed participants to hear from the shortlisted finalists in the SPF award for partnership between employers and trade unions in 2021. All the case studies can be found on the SPF website.
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With the support of Adele Bunch from NHS Employers and Sarah Cliff, Department of Health and Social Care in the UK, the HOSPEEM Secretariat wrote a guest article on the role of hospital and healthcare employers in promoting fair and just principles in the international recruitment of health professionals and the prevention of brain drain. The article is available in English and German.
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EU NEWS
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A total of 40 policy measures tackling labour shortages will be analysed and assessed, with a final report due in the summer of 2022.
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European Commission introduced new rules to define common indicators for the Member States to report on the overall performance of their recovery and resilience plans. This reporting will notably include policy measures related to health and employment.
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Leading up to the publication of the Commission Communication on social dialogue and the proposal for a Council Recommendation, the Commission is planning to organise multiple dedicated social partners hearings starting from March 2022, including a technical seminar on the EPSU court case judgement.
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The European Commission launched the call for tender to develop guidance affecting the health sector. The guidance is due to be published by the end of 2022.
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When discussing promoting collective bargaining, it was agreed that countries should promote strengthening the capacity of social partners to engage in collective bargaining. If their collective bargaining coverage is below 70%, they should also establish an action plan to promote collective bargaining.
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Among others, the Directive notes that the Member States should refrain from pursuing active recruitment in developing countries in sectors suffering from a lack of personnel, including the health sector. Additionally, applicants need to present a work contract or a binding job offer of a minimum of six months.
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ATTENDED EVENTS
09/12/2021: 3rd technical seminar on Sectoral Social Dialogue review process, organised by the European Commission
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09/12/2021: 1st meeting of the Working Group “Identification of existing best practices in upskilling and training healthcare workers”, organised by the EU Stakeholder Network ‘Profiling and training the health care workers of the future.’
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03/11/2021: Expert workshop on capacity-building for effective social dialogue, organised by Eurofound
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26/10/2021: Webinar on Healthcare reform trends across Europe: What have been the key issues?, organised by European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
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21/10/2021: 2nd technical seminar on Sectoral Social Dialogue review process, organised by the European Commission
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FUTURE EVENTS
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VACANCY
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