Health and safety at work has become one of the most important and highly developed aspects of the EU policy on employment and social affairs. Work-related illnesses and accidents are still a heavy burden for the entire European economy, especially in the new member states. The project aims to:

• raise awareness of the importance of health and safety at work by presenting these issues as integral parts of quality management and essential features of economic competitiveness,
• improve information on the application of Occupational Safety and Health in CEE through a survey on the employers’ and employees’ experiences, behaviour, attitudes and expectations,
• promote the development and implementation of national Occupational Safety and Health strategies among the CEE social partners organizations, companies, employee representatives, governments and other stakeholders,
• develop policy recommendations on Occupational Safety and Health that will foster social dialogue and initiate actions,
• encourage changes in the behaviour of workers and persuade their employers to adopt health-focused approaches,
• bolster Occupational Safety and Health involvement and facilitate the exchange of information and best practices among CEE employers.

The partners in the project presented the project and its results to branch associations, other social partner organizations and also at events such as conferences, workshops and other meetings. National seminars were organized on the topic of training measures on Occupational Safety and Health regulation and implementation in national languages in cooperation with foreign and local experts. The projects’ publication will be issued in the form of a practical guide on Occupational Safety and Health regulation and implementation with a common position paper of the six CEE Employers Associations in the national languages, available in both hard copies and as a downloadable document from the local employers associations’ websites.

One of the results of the IOSHA project seminare was this animated movie:

Besides the ZDS, the IOSHA project involves the following partners:

• National Union of Employers (Slovakia) – RUZ
• Alliance of Romanian Employers’ Confederations – ACPR
• Federation of Austrian Industries – IV
• Croatian Employers’ Association – HUP
• Confederation of Hungarian Employers and Industrialists – MGYOSZ (project coordinator)

More information:

Maja Skorupan, project manager at the ZDS: maja.skorupan@zds.si

Official project website: http://www.iosha.eu/

The project has received funding from the European Commission.