Campaigning for Safe and Effective Staffing in Health

This session, Campaigning for effective staffing levels, is part of a series of four thematic sessions for PSI affiliates, on Health and Care workers issues, Taking place on Monday 12 September, 1-4pm CET, the webinar is open to PSI affiliates only.

Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English, French and Spanish.

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Context

The health workforce is the backbone of the health system. It is impossible to achieve universal health care, even in the most tranquil circumstances, without adequate numbers and skills mix of well trained, and motivated health workers. The need for adequate staffing and decent work in the sector becomes even more pressing in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governments and peoples clapped for health and care workers, who stood on the frontline of the pandemic response. But beyond applause nothing much has been done. Overworked and underpaid, health workers are leaving in droves in many countries, either to migrate in search of greener pastures, or out of healthcare delivery to other occupations.

The need to address existing and projected shortfalls of the global health workforce has been a pertinent issue for several years before the COVID-19 pandemic. And PSI and its affiliates have been at the fore of calling on international institutions and governments to take concrete action, in this direction.

In 2015, PSI contributed to the formulation of the WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030. And in 2016, the PSI General Secretary, Rosa Pavanelli represented organized labour on the United Nations High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth (UN-CommHEEG). The Commission’s report included far-reaching recommendations that informed the “Working for Health: Five-Year Action Plan (2017-2021)”, adopted by the Seventieth World Health Assembly.

The PSI General Secretary equally led the Workers Group to the “Tripartite Meeting on Improving Health Employment and Working Conditions in Health Services” of the ILO in April 2017. Governments and the Employers group committed to taking forward the recommendations of the UN-CommHEEG at this meeting as well. However, little was done by governments in walking the talk of commitment to improving staffing levels and working conditions in the health sector. Where gains have been made, these have largely been the result of campaigns by PSI affiliates in different countries.

The World Health Organization commissioned an independent “Review of the relevance and effectiveness of the five-year action plan for health employment and inclusive economic growth (2017-2021) and ILO-OECD-WHO Working for Health programme” which was submitted to the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly in 2021.

The review confirmed the state of gross underinvestment in human resources for health and called for decisive action by governments, strengthened collaboration between the Working for Health programme and the health and care workers, who should forge a “vibrant global health workforce movement.”

The Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly adopted a number of resolutions, aimed at “protecting, safeguarding and investing in the health and care workforce.” These included a new Working for Health Action Plan (2022-2030), and a Global Health and Care Worker Compact.

PSI contributed to the development of these, at the consultation stage. We also presented a critical perspective to the World Health Assembly, in a constituency statement where we were had the support of several non-state actors in official relations with the WHO.

How can we effectively utilize these and other existing international resolutions and instruments to strengthen the campaigns of our unions for required staffing levels and decent work? What lessons can we learn from our shared experiences in the struggle for improved employment and working conditions in the health services? These are critical questions that will be addressed in the thematic strategy meeting.

Objectives

• Provide affiliates with in-depth perspectives on the WHO Working for Health programme and related resolutions [e.g., Working for Health Action Plan (2022-2030) & the Global Health and Care Worker Compact], and how these can be used for advocacy

• Share experiences of different unions on their campaigns for improved staffing levels and working conditions, and lessons that could be drawn from these

• Consult affiliates on priorities for our global policy advocacy on safe and effective staffing in health, including at the Fifth Global Forum on Human Resources for Health (3-5/4/2023)

Draft agenda

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