ETUI Conference: Strategic aspects of occupational safety and health litigation
Following the 2020 seminar’s stocktaking (EU level) and fact finding (national level) missions, this 2021 conference will have a more practical orientation, being focused on the usefulness of litigation in achieving unions’ goals, and will cover both legal and strategic issues.
More specifically, the conference will have the following components:
- The legal potential of cases – in particular, ways to deal with the issues of the ‘causality link’ and of the burden of proof (legal reasoning): Legal experts from various Member States as well as from EU level will shed light on this matter and will try to reach a common understanding in a round-table discussion. An important aspect here will be the issue of extending the scope of OSH legislation to ‘new’ situations, e.g. the COVID-19 crisis, teleworking, the gig economy, and cyberbullying.
- The creative use of the EU OSH legal framework: Exemplary cases from various Member States will be presented.
- Litigation as not only ‘lawyers’ work’: Litigation involves not only lawyers but also a number of other stakeholders. What is the role of workers and their representatives; OSH experts inside and outside the relevant company; and occupational physicians? How do Labour Inspectorates relate to the ‘alternative’ form of enforcement that litigation provides? A range of stakeholders will be interviewed on how they view their role as part of a bigger picture, as well as their assessment of any room for improvement.
- Wrap-up session providing an outlook for future actions: What additional knowledge do we need, and how can we continue learning from one another? What role can be found for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), and what can national trade unions do to make full use of this tool for action?
Registration and more information can be found on the website.
