CESI seminar in Berlin on third-party violence against public sector personnel
2019-04-14 12:00
On March 29 CESI held a seminar on ‘Violence at work: Protecting our members as workers and victims’ at the premises of its German member dbb, the German Civil Service Federation, in Berlin.
he seminar took place in the context of violence at work, especially against public sector workers, representing an increasing phenomenon and challenge in Germany and in most other countries of the EU.
The event provided an opportunity to allow exchanges of views among dbb affiliates and members of CESI from other EU Member States, together with external experts. As such, the discussions took stock of the current situation in different sectors, identifying best practices, launching a sensitisation campaign and at voicing clear political and legislative demands at different levels.
The following key measures were identified as being particularly urgent and necessary:
• The role of the state, the particular status, importance and role of public employees and civil servants, should be subject to a general campaign. In this context, the reasons for a trivialisation or acceptance of violence against state representatives should also be subject to an evaluation.
• Occupational prevention and repression tools at work should be improved and focus especially on the protection of the victims. Public administration staff and public service employees in key sectors such as municipalities, law enforcement, education and health sectors seem among the groups of personnel especially in need of efficient protection mechanisms.
• The development of legislation to improve occupational safety and health as well as the defence of the rights of victims and sanctions of violence committed against state agents have to become more powerful.
A seminar in Madrid on June 21 will follow up on these findings.
Picture: © DPolG Berlin 2019
