ZSSS proposes national agreement on stress-related risk assessment

In late 2004, the Union of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (ZSSS) proposed the conclusion of a national collective agreement on stress-related risk assessment, in order to implement the framework agreement on work-related stress signed by the EU-level cross-industry social partners in October.

The Union of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (Zveza svobodnih sindikatov Slovenije, ZSSS) - the country's largest union confederation - has recently been drawing more attention to the issue of work-related stress. Given that stress-related harmful consequences at the workplace are less obvious than physical harm, very little attention has so far been paid to stress at work in Slovenia. Dusan Semolic, the ZSSS president has stressed that the EU became aware that employers and trade unions must tackle work-related stress together, leading to the conclusion in October 2004 of a framework agreement on work-related stress by the EU-level cross-industry social partners (EU0410206F).

ZSSS welcomes the conclusion of this agreement. The EU-level accord's main goal is to provide a framework within which employers can work together with employees and their representatives to identify, combat and prevent stress at work (TN0111109S), rather than to seek to attach blame. Each individual EU Member State has a different institutional system of health and safety at work influenced by its history and tradition. Therefore, the agreement will be implemented in accordance with the procedures and practices specific to individual countries rather than by an EU Directive. The agreement should be implemented by the national social partners within three years. In order that implementation in Slovenia can follow the provisions of the European agreement as closely as possible, ZSSS proposes the conclusion of a 'national collective agreement on stress-related risk assessment'. ZSSS will launch initial discussions on such a national collective agreement in the Economic and Social Council of Slovenia (Ekonomsko socialni svet Slovenije, ESSS) (SI0207103F).

Lucka Bohm, the ZSSS executive secretary responsible for health and safety at work issues, states that in Slovenia employers in the private and the public sector must already adopt a statement on safety including a risk assessment, which should also include a psychological risk assessment. However, the evidence indicates that, in spite of the regulations, not a single risk assessment can be found that includes stress assessment. The main reason, she argues, is that nobody knows how to tackle such a stress assessment. Therefore, the EU framework agreement on work-related stress is of exceptional importance for Slovenia because it demands that by October 2007 employers must include stress assessments in their risk assessments.

On 8 December 2004, the Association of Employees’ Councils of Slovene Companies (Združenje svetov delavcev slovenskih podjetij, ZSDSP) (SI0312101F) organised a seminar on 'How to prepare stress management programme in a company', which touched on stress assessment.