Jobs take their toll: understanding the impact of ageing, gender and occupational hazards on workers
" Employers and most European governments tell us we will all have to work for longer. But how can workers in backbreaking jobs do that? As it is, many never manage to work out a full career due to physical or mental burnout. When asked in 2010, "Will you still be able to do the same job when you are 60 years old?", 41% of European workers replied “no”.
The debate on upping the retirement age is meaningful only if it includes working conditions, particularly unequal exposure to hazardous substances and the gender impact on the quality of working life. This is not just something for politicians and the establishment – it affects all workers.
Researchers, public officials, trade unionists and other social stakeholders will be exploring these critical issues at a two-day conference on 10 and 11 December 2013 in Brussels. The conference will look in particular to three areas where the hardships of work are a big issue: building, motor manufacturing and shopwork."
Programme
10 December 2013
08:30 – 09:00 : Registration and welcome coffee
Welcome message Aida Ponce Del Castillo, ETUI
09:15 – 12:30 Plenary session: Gender, age and job quality
- An EU-OSHA gender perspective on dangerous substance exposure and other workplace risks, Elke Schneider, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)
- Employment quality and precarious employment, results from the EWCS2010,Christophe Vanroelen, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Ageing workers, occupations and working conditions, Gérard Valenduc, Fondation Travail-Université
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break
- Psychosocial risks at the workplace and the cumulative effects of unhealthy work organization, Salvador Moncada, Instituto Sindical Trabajo, Ambiente y Salud
- Women, men and working conditions in Europe, Agnieszka Piasna, ETUI
12:30 – 13:30 Lunch
13:30 – 17:00 Parallel sessions
- Session 1: Supermarkets, retail sector and logistics
- Session 2: Construction
- Session 3: Automotive sector
11 December 2013
09:00 – 12:00 Parallel sessions
- Session 1: Supermarkets, retail sector and logistics
- Session 2: Construction
- Session 3: Automotive sector
12:00 – 13:30 Lunch
13:30 – 16:00 Plenary round table: a sustainable perspective to working conditions in European and national policies
- Elke Schneider, EU-OSHA
- David Walters, Cardiff University
- Maria Teresa Moitinho De Almeida, European Commission
- Judith Kirton-Darling, European Trade Union Confederation (TBC)
Discussion moderated by Wim Van Veelen (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV)
16:00 – 17:00 Concluding remarks: Serge Volkoff, CREAPT