Opinions with Workers' Group members as rapporteur/co-rapporteur/rapporteur-general

This opinion welcomes the Spanish Presidency's initiative of setting the goal to eliminate HIV related stigma and discrimination in Europe by 2030. It underlines that, in order to overcome stigma, discrimination and stereotypes, it essential to promote awareness-raising, training and information actions, involving organised civil society, youth and student organisations. The opinion also recommends a more ambitious new target for all countries to be achieved by 2030, improving coverage levels to as high as 95% for testing, treatment and virological suppression. Finally, it calls for new and innovative strategies to improve early diagnosis and make more people aware of their infection by expanding diversified and user-friendly approaches to more widely available HIV testing.

The EESC asserts that businesses and workers must have proper channels for participating in efforts to support environmental protection and combat climate change. While respecting the role of national industrial relations systems and the autonomy of the social partners, the EESC considers that issues related to the green transition could be a stronger focus of collective bargaining at the appropriate levels. It highlights collective bargaining as a key tool that can help companies and workers face the challenges of the climate crisis, including the derived costs for companies.

Democracy at work should cover all workers, types of work, as well as all workplaces, including platform workers. It makes companies more resilient, economically successful and better able to deliver on employment and decent work. Successful forms of democratic participation are also found in the social economy, and cooperatives. European Works Councils (EWCs) could be improved by improving participation rights and sanctioning infringements. More democracy in the world of work depends on cooperation of all stakeholders, and can help ease the green and digital transitions. It is crucial to educate young people in favor of democracy at work.

The EESC welcomes the Commission's proposal to amend the Anti-Trafficking Directive, as it agrees with the need for further progress and improvement in the fight against trafficking in human beings and the protection of victims. The gender dimension in the content and implementation of the directive should be strengthened, given that the vast majority of victims are women and girls. The EESC believes that the directive should pay greater attention to victims of trafficking, and wishes to highlight the Member States' obligation to care for and protect victims and ensure their social inclusion as far as possible.

In this opinion, requested by the upcoming Spanish presidency of the EU, the EESC is exploring the consequences of precarious working conditions on the mental health of workers.
The Committee:

• strongly upholds the evidence showing that precarious work increases the chances of worker´s mental health deteriorating and it is incompatible with the achievement of SDGs in the EU: it is a public health issue that has to be eradicated 
• stresses that combating work-related psychosocial risks at the source, using organisational interventions to reshape working conditions, is an essential first step in promoting mental health in the workplace as has highlighted by WHO and ILO
• proposes adopting specific EU legislation on preventing psychosocial risk as well as developing and modernising the current directive on occupational safety and health