The European Parliament has today thrown its weight behind the trade union campaign for binding EU legislation on psychosocial risks needed to prevent thousands of illnesses and deaths.

In a plenary vote, MEPs supported a legislative report by Estelle Ceulemans which calls on the European Commission to deliver action “ on work-related psychosocial risks, stress and mental health at work.”

The vote comes at a key moment, with the European Commission currently preparing action it should take on psychosocial risks as part of the forthcoming Quality Jobs Act.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has made clear in its response to the consultation that only binding legislation will meet the scale of the problem in Europe today:

- Workplace stress is the cause of more than 10,000 deaths a year in the EU and UK;
- Workplace stress now accounts for over 40% of all cases of depression;
- Fewer than 40% of EU workplaces have action plans to prevent psychosocial risks;
- The European economy loses €620 billion a year due to work-related depression;
- For 9 in 10 companies, action on health and safety is motivated by a legal obligation.

ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:

"Stress and burnout are not personal failings. They are the result of relentless pressure, unmanageable targets and management by fear, insecure conditions made worse by an expectation of an always-on culture, and algorithms that monitor every move.
"The law clearly protects workers from dangerous machines and toxic chemicals. It is long past time the law and practice protected all workers from dangerous ways of organising work. Nine in ten companies act on health and safety because the law requires it, which is exactly why voluntary guidance has failed.

"The ball is now in the Commission's court. The Quality Jobs Act must include a directive on psychosocial risks. Anything less would let down the workers whose health is paying the price."

Jan Willem Goudriaan, EPSU General Secretary, said:

“Psychosocial risks are preventable. Chronic understaffing, excessive workloads, long working hours and workplace violence are not inevitable parts of public service work. They are organisational risks that employers and governments have a responsibility to prevent.
“This is particularly urgent in health and social care. The latest WHO findings show that around one in three doctors and nurses reported symptoms of depression or anxiety, while one in ten reported passive suicidal thoughts.

“Europe is facing a public services emergency, with severe workforce shortages putting workers and services under increasing pressure. Binding EU rules on psychosocial risks are key to breaking this circle: preventing excessive workloads and unsafe staffing, improving working conditions and helping in particular in health and social care services recruit and retain the workers they desperately need.
“Preventing psychosocial risks is crucial not only for workers’ health, but also for ensuring quality health, care and public services for the European population.”

Nayla Glaise, Eurocadres General Secretary, said:

“We welcome the European Parliament once again urging the Commission to take action on psychosocial risks.

"Years of meaningless responses from the Berlaymont have seen these risks become prevalent in over 80% of workplaces, with burnout and sick leave levels sky high.

"A Commission obsessed with competitiveness would be well advised to acknowledge that sick workers cannot save industries.
"We need, urgently, a directive on psychosocial risks. This is not only a demand of trade unions and experts, but also of the elected representatives of European citizens”