POOSH - Occupational Safety and Health of Posted Workers

The occupational safety and health (OSH) of posted workers is regulated by Article 3 of the Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and is inextricably linked to the assurance of decent labour/working conditions. In most cases, serious infringements in matters of OSH go hand in hand with underpayment, excessive working time, lack of rest periods, lack of preventive measures, non-compliance with regulations concerning social security and health insurance and underestimating the challenges concerning OSH in culturally and ethnically diverse workspaces. This inevitably leads to higher prevalence of work-related accidents, especially in high-risk, hazardous sectors and can have short-term and long-term effects (i.e. burnout, disabilities, chronic conditions) on the health of posted workers. The disputes about the responsibility of assuring OSH in the context of subcontracting chains and liability in cases of an accident further exacerbate vulnerabilities of posted workers.

The project brings together research institutions and competent public bodies from  Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Romania, Germany, Croatia and Belgium to depict the under-researched and underexposed challenges in assuring OSH and decent labour/working conditions for posted workers. First, the project will establish and/or further improve transnational cooperation between national competent bodies, social partners, think tanks and NGOs through organization of joint meetings and visits, with the aim of exchanging best practices, experiences, discuss possible forms of further cooperation, facilitate multilateral initiatives leading to better prevention, monitoring and response to violations of posted workers rights and develop policy recommendations. Second, it will increase accessibility and quality of information for posted workers, employers and competent national authorities by developing a comprehensive transnational OSH e-Observatory. Finally, it will facilitate interdisciplinary and cross-border academic collaboration to provide a collection of 9 national case studies and a comparative study based on the existing and new data collected with fieldwork, to provide the quality evidence base and inform policy dialogue. Partners will provide a range of activities in 9 member states, produce educational material in 11 languages and ensure efficient information sharing and dissemination of deliverables beyond the geographical area primarily covered by the project.

Associate organisations

Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (Slovenia); Ministry of Labour and Pension System– Labour Inspectorate (Croatia); Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue (Belgium); European Trade Union Institute (Belgium); Association for Employment, Dialogue and Migration CONECT (Romania); Italian Federation of the Workers of Wood, of Building, of Similar industries. (FILLEA CGIL, Italy).

More information: Transnational Observatory on Occupational Safety and Health

INFORMATIVE PROJECT POSTERS