1. Fourth European trade union workshop on Psychosocial risks at work
Psychosocial risks and collective action
Fabienne Scandella
Working conditions, health and safety unit

2. Overview of this workshop
Annual basis
A look at the path taken:
1st Workshop in June 2013 in Bilbao dedicated to a trade union assessment of the implementation of the autonomous framework agreements 1) on stress (2004) and 2) on violence and harassment at work (2007)
2nd Workshop in November 2014 in Brussels on challenges that arise from psychosocial risk assessment
3rd Workshop in September 2015 in Malta was the opportunity to consider PSR with a multidisciplinary approach (the lawyer’s, the occupational doctor’s and labour inspector’s point of views)
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

3. Overview of this workshop (2)
This 4th workshop:
Topic : « PSR and collective action »: a wish expressed by the participants to the previous edition
Aims of these workshops:
sharing information, knowledge, tools, analyses, experiences
developing a common understanding on PSR
developing a trade union network: yours!
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

4. Psychosocial risks: a pandemy…
The situation is more serious than ever
It affects all workers, male or female, in all economic sectors, both private and public, and the number of workers at risk is growing all the time
A speaking exemple : In Belgium, according to the Belgian statutory national medical insurance association, from 1995 to 2014, the number of disabled employees increased by 91.32% to 321,573 people. Psychic disorders, together with osteo-articular affections, are the leading causes (INAMI, 2015)
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

5. Comparative data on PSR at the European level
Website :
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

6. Two key findings of the EU-OSHA/Eurofound joint report
“In Europe 25% of workers say they experience work-related stress for all or most of their working time, and a similar proportion reports that work affects their health negatively”.
“Psychosocial risks are of concern to a majority of companies: nearly 80% of managers express a concern about work-related stress, and nearly one in five considers violence and harassment to be of major concern. Looking at single risks, managers’ greatest concerns relate to time pressure and difficult customers, patients and pupils. Despite these concerns, fewer than one-third of establishments have procedures in place to deal with such risks”.
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

7. A pandemy… that call for action
« What do we do now? »
« How do we address the issue? »
« How do we take action? »
PSR are challenging:
They have a particular place alongside other occupational risks because the factors underlying this particular category of risks are attributable to work organisation (always considered as the employer’s preserve)
No “limit value” as for the exposure to chemicals
No PPE to wear as for physical, chemical or biological risks
Psychosocial risks factors are numerous and so are the solutions
E.g. workload ≠ third-party violence
These issues are often individualised and stigmatised
= ever-present questions!

8. A challenge but also an opportunity!
The issue of PSR are really central for workers
Their health
Their well-being
Their self-esteem and their identity
Their work-life balance
are involved
Cleaners in quest of dignity and respect at the SOAS University of London. They ask for the end of outsourcing.
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

9. A challenge but also an opportunity (2)
Without trade union action: at best a standstill?
No/few incentive for employer: the costs of PSR are borne by the workers, its relatives and the society
At the European level:
the DG Employment has effectively deserted the field of health and safety at work
On PSR, whose prevalence it recognises, it has no legislative initiatives planned (hence, we know that
In this area, at least in the short and medium term, we can expect nothing apart from guidelines and awareness campaigns
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

10. A short parenthesis on the European level
From 2005 onwards, DG SANCO (now DG SANTE) adopted an ambitious programme to promote mental health:
2008: European Pact for Mental Health and Well-Being
2011: Joint Action for Mental Health
Still ongoing…
In principle, all these initiatives are laudable. Who would oppose promoting mental health?
And yet… These projects include a component on the world of work and set out guidelines for action in that area
When we examine the guidelines from an OH perspective; things become less clear cut: there is a clear break with all the principles governing H&S at work as set out in the Framework Directive 89/391/ECC !
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

11. Short parenthesis (2): Mental health vs. PSR
Psychosocial risk approach
Focus on the causes (« on the risk at source »)
Preventive measures
Collective measures
Mental health approach
Focus on the mental health of the individual
Curative measures
Individual measures
This is about more than just semantics: the eclipsing of psychosocial risks also erodes and marginalises the causal link between mental health problems and the employment and working conditions from which they arise.
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

12. Action!
This workshop is an opportunity to consider traditional and new repertories of action and to share/exchange /test/build/learn what collective action could be appropriate to counter the harmful impact of some PSR factors
An opportunity to experiment the link between specific PSR factors and an efficient collective action
During the working sessions, we will work on how to address this complex and multifactorial issue => Strategic mapping, brainstorming
Plenaries will provide information on what work, on what doesn’t, on experiences, on tools, on methods… on which to build one’s own project for collective action
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

13. A glance to the programme
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)

14. As a support for the working groups

15. Activity sheets for working groups
Fabienne Scandella © etui (2017)