Quality Jobs as Well as Jabs: Protecting Health by Tackling Precarious Work

Abstract

Policy implications:
• Tackling precarious work is essential for a fair Covid‑19 recovery and healthier future of work.
• The Covid‑19 crisis is worsening existing inequalities in the world of work. The European Commission should embed the principle of equity into the country-specific recommendations
of the European Semester, with a view to allocating resources in a manner that recognises and remedies these fundamental inequalities.
• Policy interventions should focus on preventing the negative health impacts of poor working conditions, which are particularly apparent in precarious work.
• The Member States should use EU funds to tackle all aspects of precarious work, with a focus on supporting women, youth, lowskilled workers, and migrant workers.
• The pandemic has highlighted the need for reinforced and updated occupational safety and health legislation, both at the EU and the Member State levels."

Keywords: epidemic disease ; precarious employment ; health ; working conditions ; EU policy ; occupational health ; EU countries