New EU Strategic Framework

Last week, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) hosted an online symposium to mark the launch of the European Commission’s new Strategic Framework, aimed at improving worker protection and ensuring that OSH keeps pace with the rapidly evolving challenges facing Europe’s workplaces.
EU-OSHA’s Executive Director Dr Christa Sedlatschek invited Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, to share his views on how — in practice — the new framework anticipates and manages change given the fundamental transformations surrounding digitalisation, telework, platform work, artificial intelligence and the green agenda. Prevention is another key priority of the framework, something that has always been at the heart of EU-OSHA’s work. Dr Sedlatschek and Commissioner Schmit also considered what can be learned from the pandemic, to ensure preparedness for similar crises and to minimise future health, social and economic impacts.
The Strategic Framework takes a tripartite approach, involving EU institutions, Member States, social partners and other stakeholders and focuses on three key priorities: anticipating and managing change in the context of green, digital and demographic transitions, improving the prevention of work-related accidents and diseases, and striving towards a Vision Zero approach to work-related deaths and increasing preparedness to respond to current and future health crises.
Although mainstreaming OSH into education is not included in the new strategy explicitly, William Cockburn of EU-OSHA underlined the longstanding successful cooperation with the European Network Education and Training in Occupational Safety and Health (ENETOSH).
The launch of the framework marks the beginning of a new era of worker protection: no matter where, when or how work is carried out, everyone — without exception — should have the right to safe and healthy working conditions.