From 7 to 9 December 2023 took place a seminar about “A new strategy for health and safety at the workplace: EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027”, organized by LPS „Solidarumas“ (Lietuvos Profesinė Sąjunga „Solidarumas“), in cooperation with EZA and funded by the European Union. The seminar was attended by 61 representatives of workers’ organisations from Lithuania, Estonia, North-Macedonia and Latvia.
The seminar was welcomed and opened by Ms.Kristina Krupavičienė, President of the LTU "Solidarumas", and Ms.Jovita Pretzsch, Deputy Chairperson of the LTU "Solidarumas", Member of the Council of EZA, the European Centre for Workers' Questions.
In the opening session, Ms Kristina Krupavičienė, President of the LTU "Solidarumas“, addressed the participants of the international seminar on occupational health and safety in the European Community with the message that "the purpose of the seminar was to identify the challenges faced by different trade unions, which would be raised during negotiations on new Collective Agreements in Europe to improve workplace safety throughout the country."
Ms Jovita Pretzsch, Vice-President for International Relations and member of the Council of the European Centre for Workers' Questions (EZA) gave a brief presentation on how the organisation, which is imbued with Christian values, operates, what activities it undertakes in order to achieve its objectives and what topics are being currently addressed.
Michele Dinelli of the European Union Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), in his presentation on the EU Strategic Framework for Safety and Health at Work, noted that more and more employers are realising that it is more cost-effective to invest in safety than to pay large sums when an accident or health problem occurs. In his view, the green conversion, the boom in digital processes and demographic challenges are driving a review of regulations across the European Union (EU).
Mr Linas Lasiauskas, Adviser to the International Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, revealed that the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), at its 349th Session in October-November 2023, adopted the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health at Work (OSH) and its Action Plan for Implementation 2024-2023. The objective of the Strategy is to:
Gradually realise the fundamental right to a safe and healthy working environment worldwide and contribute to the global reduction of deaths, injuries and illnesses at work, as well as the related socio-economic costs;
Take into account the opportunities and challenges of a changing world of work, including the threats posed by climate change and future threats;
Pay due attention to the importance of mental health in the workplace in tackling the challenges of the world of work.
Trade union representatives from Estonia, Latvia and North-Macedonia talked about the situation in their respective countries concerning occupational safety and health. Mr. Angel Panev, Vice-President of the Macedonian Confederation of Free Trade Unions, made some recommendations to improve the situation. In his opinion, it is of vital importance to focus on:
Capacity building and continuous training of OSH experts, employers, workers, trade unions, occupational health practitioners, NGOs, public authorities, etc. are needed.
Improvement of OSH legislation.
Establishment of a proactive system for continuous monitoring, risk analysis and prompt action on OSH in workplaces;
A proactive fight against corruption at all institutional levels.
Ms Nerita Šot, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) focal point coordinator in Lithuania, Chief Specialist of the State Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of Lithuania, presented the European Campaign for Safe Workplaces 2023-2025, "Occupational Safety and Health in the Digital Age". She revealed that the aim of the new 2023-2025 Safe Workplaces Campaign is to foster cooperation for a safe and productive digital transformation of work. The campaign aims to raise awareness on the safe use of digital technologies in all sectors; disseminate information on the OSH challenges associated with the digitalisation of work; raise awareness of emerging risks and opportunities; promote risk assessment and safe management of digital technologies at work; and encourage the exchange of information and good practices.
Ms Vesta Macė, Senior Adviser at the Occupational Safety and Health Division of the State Labour Inspectorate, stressed that the digital economy brings with it a myriad of benefits (for both consumers and workers), but it also brings challenges. These include loss of privacy, increasing social inequalities, the ethics of artificial intelligence, the right to disconnect, the protection of personal data, virtual security and even dependence on IT technologies.
The presentation of Mr. Rimtautas Ramanauskas, deputy chairperson of the LTU "Solidarumas“, focused on certain paradoxes of the digital age. He said that "middle managers are being replaced by algorithms that allocate tasks to employees and monitor results. Loss of control over the work process, fragmentation of work into very simple tasks to be carried out in a set way, narrowing of the scope of work and de-skilling the workforce."
Mr. Alvydas Kizevičius, Director-Expert of the Occupational Risk Department of UAB "SDG", spoke about occupational risk assessment and the involvement of employees. Risk assessment is a process that identifies hazards and risk factors, the potential severity of the damage to health caused by them and the likelihood of occurrence of damage, determines the magnitude of the risk in the light of the protective measures applied, and decides on the acceptability of the risk, i.e. whether the risk is acceptable, tolerable or unacceptable and the application of preventive measures. The risk assessment shall be carried out in the presence of the workers or their representatives and the workers' safety and health representatives. The rhetorical question was raised how to involve workers in occupational risk assessment?
Dr. Ramunė Guobaitė, a researcher at the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, presented the results of a survey of the members of the Coordination Council of the LTU "Solidarumas". She revealed that the study was still ongoing and the participants were invited to participate further. She also mentioned several laws and legal norms that can guide workers' representatives in their regular work and stressed the importance of developing trade union empowerment in the management of psychosocial risks through local legal regulation
Conclusions and proposals:
Increase the focus on occupational risk assessment and the involvement and participation of workers' representatives.
Aim for occupational risk assessment in remote workplaces, which is currently not mandatory.
Training of workers on occupational safety and health issues should be continuous and ongoing.
Trade unions prepare a plan of measures to eliminate or reduce risks on their initiative using OIRA.
Seek ratification of ILO Convention 190 in Lithuania.