#OSH4Edu: ETUCE/EFEE workshop on the development and implementation of Online Risk Assessment tools for education institutions
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Representatives from ETUCE and EFEE member organisations met online for the first OSH4Edu workshop on 5 November 2020. Guest speakers and experts from the European Agency for Health and Safety, EU-OSHA shared their insights and gave an overview of the development and future challenges of Online interactive Risk Assessment (OiRA) tools. While ETUCE and EFEE presented their OiRA project, in which the European social partners had jointly developed online risk assessment tools for primary and secondary education. These tools allow education institutions to locally assess existing risks and design and implement policies to remedy any shortcoming. While the tools have been at the first instance developed at European level, the further adaptation to national level policy allows for these tools to be further amended to the pandemic circumstances to address and include given and recent national health and safety legislation.
The workshop provided a platform for participants to exchange their experiences and share good practice on the development and implementation of OiRA tools. It was also an opportunity to review the national tools that exist across Europe and highlight specific needs in higher Education and research as well as in vocational education and training.
Susan Flocken, ETUCE European Director, noted the importance of such platforms of discussion and cooperation: “The OSH4Edu project is rooted in previous joint work by social partners to address physical and psycho-social risks in the education sector. These exchanges and joint work are fundamental if we are to better comprehend and tackle the concrete and contemporary workplace risks. Evermore so in these times of crisis and with the shift to an entirely different online working environment. We continue working together to support the successful implementation of online risk assessments at regional, national, and European level with a view to ensure healthy and safe teaching and learning environments”.