The European Week for Safety and Health at Work is held annually in October with hundreds of awareness raising events taking place across the EU and beyond. Good occupational health and safety benefits both workers and employers, and prevention of risks is key. Pressure from trade unions is a major factor in driving prevention measures. Unions make workplaces safer and union action at EU level to promote improvement in EU Health and Safety rules is crucial.
EU Safety Week promotes the importance of active, participative workplace safety and health and the 2023 focus is on Safe and healthy work in the digital age. This is particularly important as trade unions campaign to ensure that increasing digitalisation does not lead to job insecurity, data mismanagement, or invasion of privacy.
Campaign objectives include:
• Raise awareness about the importance, relevance, and implications for occupational safety and health (OSH) of the digital transformation of work, including the business case by providing facts and figures;
• Increase everyone’s awareness and practical knowledge across all sectors, types of workplaces, and specific groups of workers (e.g. women, migrants) about the safe and productive use of digital technologies at work;
• Improve knowledge about new and emerging risks and opportunities related to the digital transformation of work;
• Promote risk assessment and a healthy and safe proactive management of the digital transformation of work by providing access to relevant resources (e.g.: good practice, checklists, tools, and guidance); and
• Bring stakeholders together to facilitate the exchange of information, knowledge, and good practice and stimulate collaboration for a safe and productive digital transformation of work.
Affiliates may consider using social media channels this week to highlight workplace health and safety and the work of trade union safety reps. The hashtag for the campaign is #EUhealthyworkplaces
More information on the campaign topic including campaign materials and social media branding can be found on the EU-OSHA campaign website
https://healthy-workplaces.osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-publications/social-media-kit
