28 Amendments of Leila CHAIBI related to 2021/2098(INI)
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the mental well-being of those facing financial uncertainty, with particular negative consequences for women, workers with chronic health conditions as well as of vulnerable populations, including ethnic minorities, single parents, the LGBTI+ community, the elderly, persons with disabilities, homeless and young people;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas before the pandemic it was estimated that 25 % of EU citizens would experience a mental health problem in their lifetime11 ; whereas mental well-being has reached its lowest level across all age groups since the onset of the pandemic; whereas this is especially prominent among young people and those who have lost their job; whereas in spring 2021, there was an overall increase in negative feelings, such as tension/anxiety, loneliness, and feeling downhearted and depressed, across most social groups in the EU; whereas, according with Eurofound, an increase in depressive feelings was recorded particularly among younger groups, while the highest increase in loneliness was recorded for women over 50; __________________ 11 European Network for Workplace Health Promotion, A Guide for Employers. To Promote Mental Health in the Workplace, 2011.
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the mental health of young people has worsened significantly during the pandemic, with problems related to mental health doubling in several Member States compared to pre- crisis levels; whereas 64 % of young people in the 18-34 age group were at risk of depression in spring 2021, partly as a consequence of the lack of employment, financial and educational prospects in the longer run as well as a result of loneliness and social isolation; whereas the worsening of mental health can be also attributed to disruptions in access to mental health services and an increased workload, and a labour market crisis that disproportionately affected young people; whereas suicide is the second leading cause of death in Europe among young people;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D f (new)
Recital D f (new)
Df. whereas many EU inhabitants don’t have access to public mental and occupational health services; whereas public mental and occupational health services are notoriously underfunded;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas the initial response to the pandemic failed to include a workplace dimension and the critical role trade unions play to defend workers’ fundamental human right to a safe and secure workplace;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
Ed. whereas most EU sectoral social partners in the second half of 2020 recognised the importance of health and safety at work, the critical role of social dialogue and of sufficiently resourced public services to develop a preventive crisis strategy both in the public and private sectors;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas under EU occupational health and safety regulations, employers have the duty to protect workers’ safety and health in all aspects of work; whereas the reference to psychosocial risks is not explicitly referred to in the EU legal OSH framework; whereas Member States do not share legally binding common standards and principles regarding psychosocial risks, which leads to de facto unequal legal protections for workers;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Regrets that during the COVID-19 pandemic mental health has been affected by many factors including education, health, economic, employment and social inclusion policies, inadequate work organisation and teleworking arrangements and poverty; calls for mental health to urgently be tackled by cross- sectional policies;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic crisis have caused a huge strain on the well-being of EU citizens and workers, particularly self-employed and platform workers, with higher rates of stress, anxiety and depression;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to prioritise mental health in the upcoming European care strategy; underlines that the link between socioeconomic factors, such as unemployment, housing insecurity, mental health and wellbeing, must be addressed to ensure a holistic and comprehensive approach towards mental health at EU level; highlights that uncertainty about the future, including the impact of climate change, is having a detrimental effect on the mental health, especially on youth; calls on the Member States, therefore, to make mental health an integral part of the EU’s socioeconomic recovery from the pandemic and an occupational health priority, in particular in educational and workplace environments;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the EU institutions and Member States to recognise the high levels of mental health issues across the EU and commit to actions regulating and implementing a world of work which protects workers’ mental health and reinforce social protection rights;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Applauds the frontline staff who sacrificed their own well-being to perform life-saving work during the pandemic; calls for Member States to ensure that they have immediate access to adequate mental health resourcesrecalls that many frontline workers, such as the ones in waste, retail and health sectors, have precarious working arrangements and low wages; stresses that inadequate workload as well as precariousness and financial instability may lead to mental health issues; calls for Member States to ensure that they have immediate access to adequate mental health resources and psychosocial interventions, which should be extended beyond the acute crisis period of time as post-traumatic stress (due to lack of protective personal equipment, workload and possibly high social demands) is likely to have repercussions in the long term; calls on the Commission to give special attention to frontline staff in upcoming Commission’s legislative proposals on mental health at work;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recognises that employmentgood quality employment and decent wages can provide individuals with purpose and a sense of identity; emphasises the positive relationship between good mental health and work productivity;14 __________________ 14 OSHWiki, Mental Health, meaningful work and well-being at Wwork;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Recalls that proactive approaches to digitalisation, such as adequate workload and structural work organisation, flexible work hours and establishing employeeworker assistance programmes, when workers and their trade unions are duly informed and consulted can help to mitigate work- related stress; notes that artificial intelligence systems may provide further options for this while potentially posing a certain number of challenges such as constant surveillance of workers and lack of control over work allocation; stresses that AI solutions in the workplace must not be unilaterally imposed and be ethical, transparent, fair and must avoid any negative implications for workers’ health and safety and must be subject to consultation with workers and/or their representatives;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that the shift to teleworking during the pandemic and the flexibility it provided to employees could improvehas been a challenge for many workers, in particular for the poorest households, namely the single- parent households; notes that remote working is proven to have a strong impact on the organisation of working time by increasing flexibility and workers’ constant availability, frequently resulting in work-life conflict; recalls that telework, if properly regulated, could provide workers with the freedom to adapt their working hours and schedules to meet their own personal and family needs; calls on the Commission to propose a legislative framework with a view to establishing minimum requirements for telework while not negatively affecting employment conditions of teleworkers; stresses that such a framework should clarify working conditions, including regarding the provision and use of and liability for equipment, covering existing and new digital tools, and that it should ensure that such work is carried out on a voluntary basis and that the rights, work- life balance; encourages companies to provide clear and transparent rules on teleworking arrangements; , workload and performance standards of teleworkers are equivalent to those of comparable on-site workers; stresses that this legislative initiative should be based on a comprehensive assessment, including of the psychosocial risks associated with digital and remote working practises and permeable work environments; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure measures on accessibility and inclusive technology for persons with disabilities who are in the transition to teleworking and/or are undergoing remote vocational training; encourages companies and public administrations to provide clear and transparent rules on teleworking arrangements, including provisions on ergonomically fit equipment and compensation for additional work-related expenses, in negotiation with the trade unions and/or workers representatives;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers the right to disconnect essential to ensuring the mental well-being of employeeworkers and complementary to a preventive and collective approach against work-related psychosocial risks; reiterates its calls on the Commission to propose legislation requiring line managers to set minimum requirements for remote workinga directive on minimum standards and conditions to ensure that all workers are able to exercise effectively their right to disconnect and to regulate the use of existing and new digital tools for work purposes;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes that the Directives on the minimum safety and health requirements in the workplace and for work display screen equipment may open up opportunities for improving the protection of workers using digital devices, including self-employed workers and platform workers;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 d (new)
Paragraph 12 d (new)
12d. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to modernise the OSH legislative framework by reviewing Directive 89/654/EEC and Directive 90/270/EEC laying down minimum safety and health requirements for the workplace and work with display screen equipment;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Is concerned about the disconnect between current policy on mental health and attitudes in the workplace creating stigma; emphasises that due to stigma and discrimination, employees often feel unable to discuss mental health issues; recognises that employees who return after mental health leave are often poorly accommodated; calls for workplaceemployers to provide clear information about their in- house mental health support services;15 __________________ 15 WTW, 2021 Employee Experience Survey
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Is concerned about an approach to health which makes no distinction between mental health problems that pre- exist before the integration into work (e.g. bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) and those resulting from exposure to psychosocial risk factors at work (e.g. reactional depression, burnout, musculoskeletal disorders); regrets that this approach risks focusing only on the individual state of mental health rather than on the causes likely to affect it (conditions of employment and work, staffing levels, workload);
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Believes that the measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers are not effective for the assessment and management of psychosocial risks; calls on the Commission to recognise anxiety, depression and burnout as occupational diseases, to establish mechanisms for their prevention and the reintegration into the workplace of those affected and to move from individual-level actions to a work organisation approach16 ; calls on the Commission to revise the Commission recommendation concerning the European Schedule of Occupational Diseases of 2003 with additions such as work-related mental-health disorders, in particular anxiety, depression and burnout; calls on the Commission to transform this recommendation into a directive creating a minimum list of occupational diseases and setting out minimum requirements for the recognition and adequate compensation for individuals concerned, regardless the type of contractual relationship; __________________ 16 European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2021), Telework and health risks in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the field and policy implications, 2021.
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission to propose, in consultation with the social partners, a directive on psychosocial risks and well-being at work aiming to effectivelyed at the efficient prevention of psychosocial risks in the workplace; considers that occupational safety and health prevention policies should also involve employees in the identification and prevention of psychosocial risks; , such as anxiety, depression, burnout and stress, including risks caused by structural problems such as work organisation (i.e. poor management, poor work design or not properly matching workers’ knowledge and abilities with the assigned tasks); considers that occupational safety and health prevention policies are the responsibility of the employers but should also involve workers, trade unions and/or workers representatives in the in the conception and implementation of measures to identify and prevent psychosocial risks; considers the need to guarantee no repercussions for workers who raise concerns regarding psychosocial risks in the workplace; considers the need to provide means for labour inspectorates, including further funding and training to ensure they can adequately protect workers;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers that it is essential for managers, including middle management, to be provided with the psychosocial training required to adapt to work organisation practices and foster a deep understanding of negative mental health and the workplace; insists that trade unions must play a central role in the design and implementation of both trainings and best practices;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Underlines that the management and mitigation of psychosocial risks is first and foremost the responsibility of the employer; regrets that given the lack of sufficient mental health support and policies in the workplace, employees often have to rely on services provided by non- governmental organisations (NGOs); calls for workpla and expensive private consulting firms; calls for employers to ensure workers have access to in-house mental health support and remedies or be provided access to ensure employees have access to in-house mental health support and remediexternal supports at the expense of the employer should in-house services be unavailable; calls for the establishment of dedicated bodies at the workplace where they do not exist or access to external assistance should this be necessary, but also to strengthen the prerogatives of existing health and safety committees; calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish mechanisms for the prevention of such risks and the reintegration into the workplace of affected employees, and to shift from individual-level actions to a work organisation approach in line with the general principles of hierarchy of prevention included in Directive 89/391/EEC; calls on the Commission to prepare guidelines as regards the minimum number of personnel providing occupational health services that are required to ensure adequate occupational health surveillance; considers that protection and promotion of mental health should be an integral part of OSH preparedness plans for future health crises; stresses that specific attention should be paid to the mental health of healthcare workers and of other essential workers; recalls the crucial role of trade unions, including health and safety representatives, and effective social dialogue on health and safety matters;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Calls on a recognition that self- employed and platform workers face the most precarious situations of employment conditions with a particular impact in their general wellbeing, work-life balance and mental health; urges the Commission and the Member States to recognise these precarious conditions and to include in the existing or to be defined legal frameworks instruments to reinforce their protection, namely by assuring equal rights and work conditions to access measures and practices in place for the workers with a regular contract;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Urges the Member States to include costs with Mental Health Occupational Diseases in their annual budgets; calls on the Commission in cooperation with Member States to ensure local and other relevant public authorities to have sufficient staff and public resources to provide mental health support and services to all who need them;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. IStresses that all workers should be adequately protected no matter their status or the size of the enterprise and that support should be provided to micro enterprises to help them in the correct application of OSH rules; is concerned that entrepreneurs and SMEs in particular are in need of support to promote mental health awareness in the workplace and calls for EU-level efforts to assist them in risk assessment and the implementation of good practices; highlights the role of EU- OSHA in providing micro-enterprises and SMEs with the tools and standards they need to assess the risks to their workforce and implement adequate prevention measures; considers that EU-OSHA should be strengthened in order to better promote healthy and safe workplaces across the Union and further develop initiatives to improve workplace prevention in all sectors of activity;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Points out that 64 % of young people between 18 and34 were at risk of depression in 2021 due to lack of employment, financial and educational prospects, as well as loneliness and social isolation; stresses that one of the best tool to tackle mental health issues amongst young people is to provide them with meaningful, stable and desirable educational and employment perspectives; calls on the Commission to address the disruption in access to the labour market which has put young people at greater risk of experiencing mental health issues17 ; calls on the Member States to facilitate access for young people to paid, quality and inclusive traineeships, apprenticeships and internships; calls for the reinforcement of monitoring schemes, ensuring that young people receive adequate and quality first working experiences, opportunities for upskilling and new qualifications or credentials; condemns the practice of unpaid internships, apprenticeships and traineeships as a form of exploitation of young workers, and a violation of their rights, and calls on the Commission and the Member States, in collaboration with Parliament, to propose a common legal framework for an effective and enforceable ban on unpaid internships and to ensure fair remuneration for traineeships and apprenticeships in order to avoid exploitative practices leading in many cases to mental health issues; __________________ 17 OECD, Supporting young people’s mental health through the COVID-19 crisis, 2021, and European Youth Forum, ‘Beyond Lockdown: The ‘Pandemic Scar’ on Young People’.