Occupational Health System of Germany

Introduction

In general, workers represent half the population in Europe and are the major contributors to economic and social development. Among the major social determinants of health are hazards and risks in the working environment. The health, working ability and well-being of the working population are some of the priority areas of a good governance pursuing health in all policies. The occupational health system in Germany has been in existence for over a century, which is based on statutory accident insurance [1,4].

By following the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Germany has a comprehensive national Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) system. Germany has ratified 83 ILO conventions and all OSH legislation is harmonized with EU directives. A the statutory basis joint German OSH strategy (‘Gemeinsame Deutsche Arbeitsschutzstrategie’, GDA) has been developed and implemented on 5 November 2008. The German federal, the 16 regional governments and the accident insurance institutions hold joint and equal responsibility for the Strategy, as well as an important role by the social partners, i.e. employers and employees (Figure 1) [1,4].

The key intentions of the Joint OSH Strategy are to maintain and strengthen employability which includes the promotion of lifelong learning, to support general health objectives, to reduce the costs of the social insurance system and to increase the competitiveness of companies [4,5].

This review papers concentrates on the characteristics and core elements of the Joint Occupational Safety and Health Strategy in Germany. After the introduction, the paper is structured as follows: next section deals with overview of the strategy targets and its implementations; followed by ...

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...ng, promotion and motivation to implement Safety Management Systems, and so on. ii. Reduction of work-related health risks and diseases with regard to the musculoskeletal system iii. Protection and strengthening of the health in cases of work-related psychosocial loads (mental strain).

Conclusion

The Joint OSH Strategy in Germany is an strategic approach to performing tasks of occupational safety and health, which is in line with European and international requirements. The core issues of the Joint OSH Strategy in Germany are the development of common OSH goals, the agreement on priority fields of action and the priority work programmes, which are executed along uniform principles; the evaluation of OSH goals, areas and work programmes. The results of the first phase are discussed, further improvements and new objectives have been agreed by all the involved parties.