About the project
This is a project led by the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) with financial support from the European Union.
The scaffolding sector is marked by arduous working conditions, the vocational training differs remarkably between European countries, forms of employment are often precarious, and includes other aspects that are of concern for trade unions. The aim of this project is to contribute to the improvement of training, working conditions and transformation in the European Scaffolding Sector, and to identify areas of possible action and develop policy concepts and proposals for those areas in which the EU is responsible. This includes finding out whether a European certificate for safety training has a chance of realisation, and if so, to take the first steps in this direction. In addition, the project will address the issues of occupational safety and health, including standardisation, social dialogue in the scaffolding sector, and the question of technological development. For each of the four topics, it is aimed to work out policy recommendations for the European level and for the work in the framework of Social Dialogue.
The chosen method is, first, to draft national reports on the current status of scaffolding work and its framework conditions in six countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Poland and the Netherlands), and also an overall overview on the situation in the EU. The overall report shall then provide insights allowing us to identify areas of action. Next, research results and policy recommendations are discussed in dedicated workshops, amended and finally discussed and adopted within the EFBWW structures (Standing Committee Building / Coordination Group on OSH) and within the European Social Dialogue for the Construction Sector, including feedback rounds.
ProBE team
The ProBE team consists of Doctors Fernando Duran-Palma and Christina Georgiadou as project coordinators, and Professors Linda Clarke (University of Westminster) and Christopher Winch (King’s College London) project evaluators.
As coordinators, ProBE supports and co-ordinates the work of the partners in the elaboration of six country reports (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Poland and the Netherlands), detailing the economic situation of the Scaffolding sector, terms of employment and working conditions, Occupational Safety and Health; technological innovation and the labour process; skills, vocational education and training, and OSH training; and Social Dialogue.
As evaluators, ProBE evaluates the quality of the country reports and overall research report based, which will further address the feasibility of a European OSH Certificate for the scaffolding sector, as well as other policy recommendations on working conditions, training and technological change.
Contact
For further information, email:
- Dr Fernando Duran-Palma at [email protected]
- Professor Linda Clarke at [email protected]