Labour promotes debate on mental health at work in the European social agenda

The management of psychosocial risks, which will be held in Toledo on 26 and 27 September. The meeting is one of the events scheduled as part of Spain's rotating presidency of the European Union..

The event was also attended by European Commission officials and international experts who address psychosocial risks in the workplace from different perspectives.

The guarantee of rights is one of the foundations of the European Union, as the Secretary of State for Employment explained, "Nobody loses their rights when they enter a factory. We can be proud to live in a continent that has made the social state and citizens' rights a feature of coexistence based on solidarity and mutual support. The same has to be advocated for in the labour market".

In fact, opening up the debate on mental health in the workplace is a new milestone in the construction of a Social Europe in which Spain wants to play a fundamental role during its rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.

"That today Europe is working on mental health, that today the European Commission is talking about a holistic approach, that today we are talking about green and digital just transitions or that we are talking about how to face the challenges of the future through the European Year of Skills means that we are in a position to generate a prosperous Europe that is not based on precariousness and where work is in no way a place of suffering", said Pérez Rey.

Impetus in the European Union

The Ministry of Labour and Social Economy commissioned a pioneering report on the subject from a commission of experts, the conclusions of which were made public in March. It also requested the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee prior to the Spanish presidency, and the first conclusions on mental health and precarious work of the Council of the European Union are expected to be adopted on 9 October.

These conclusions will seek to encourage quality employment policies and the fight against precariousness; research on mental health at work with a preventive approach and focusing on the impact of working conditions on mental health, among other aspects.

In the European Union, companies and organisations will be encouraged to include psychosocial risk management in their health and safety risk assessments and the role of labour inspectorates and other monitoring bodies in the Member States will be strengthened.

In addition, within the framework of social dialogue, efforts will be made to improve working conditions that negatively impact on mental health, in particular those often seen in precarious jobs.

Bilateral meeting with Germany

The Acting Secretary of State for Employment and Social Economy, Joaquín Pérez Rey, also held a bilateral meeting with the Secretary of State of the German Federal Ministry of Labour, Lilian Tschan, who thanked Spain for its commitment to mental health in the workplace and also to combating precariousness. Both also reviewed other priority dossiers of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU.

Non official translation