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Health and Social care services

Quality health care is important to families, societies and the economy – because healthy workers are more productive. The PSI – which represents 8 million health care workers – believes that care must be available to people who need it, not just to those who can pay. Health care is dangerous work. These workers, and the services they provide, are worthy of everyone’s support. Read more

Time for quality revolution in healthcare

19 December 2018
Rosa Pavanelli, PSI General Secretary

A major focus of this edition of Right to Health is the need to go beyond the tokenism which favours profit-making for health companies over the provision of “universal health coverage.” PSI has always maintained that we need quality health for all, and this is possible only when it is publicly delivered, says Rosa Pavanelli, PSI General Secretary.

Health care staff issues: an election issue in Quebec

18 December 2018

For the last few years, the 75,000 members of the Quebec health care workers’ union, the FIQ, have been campaigning for the government to allow them to provide quality and humane health care. A lot of problems can be avoided by having stable well-staffed work teams.

Dismissed care workers reinstated in Germany

18 December 2018

Carmen Laue and Heike Schmidt were reinstated as employees of the social care company Celenus, by a ruling of the Labour Court in Nordhausen in central Germany, on 17 October, 2018. The two union activists are members of Ver.di, a leading affiliate of PSI and the European Public Service Unions (EPSU).

Turkey: Health workers charged for rendering humanitarian services

18 December 2018

PSI attended the court hearing as an international solidarity observer for 14 health workers who face years in prison over their attempts to provide medical assistance to civilians during a curfew imposed by Turkish armed forces in the Kurdish-majority city of Cizre.

Astana Conference: 40 Years after Alma-Ata

18 December 2018

Hundreds of people including policy-makers, academics and civil society activists gathered for the Global Conference on Primary Health Care at Astana, Kazakhstan on 25-26 October. This was to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first International Conference on Primary Health Care, which was held in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan.

India: is “Modicare” the answer?

18 December 2018

The Indian government launched what it describes as the largest health insurance scheme in the world, in September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the 'Ayushman Bharat -Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)' programme will provide health cover to the tune of 500,000 rupees ($6,900) a year for the poorest 100 million families in the country.

Quality Public Health for All: Time for Action

17 December 2018

Last year the UN General Assembly officially established 12 December as an international day, making 12 December 2018 the first International Universal Health Coverage Day. For PSI, it provides an opportunity to reflect on the unacceptable health inequities between and within countries across the world. Considering the abundant wealth available to humankind and major advances made in healthcare delivery, this situation is indefensible.

Final report of the expert group to the High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth

21 September 2016

The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, established the High-Level Commission on
Health Employment and Economic Growth (ComHEEG) in March 2016. Its task is to propose intersectoral
actions to guide and stimulate the creation of health and social sector jobs to advance inclusive
economic growth.
In support of the Commission’s work, an Expert Group was convened to critically review the
available evidence.

Safe Workers Save Lives: PSI Health Priorities and Trade Union Response to the Ebola Virus Disease

21 September 2016
Photo: UNMEER/Martine Perret. Creative Commons

At the start of the Ebola crisis, PSI was contacted by its affiliates from the three most affected countries with the alarming news that health workers were dying on the workfloor. This update reports on the work that has taken place on the ground since the implementation of PSI's Ebola response strategy.

PSI General Secretary statement at the 2nd ComHEEG meeting

20 September 2016

This second meeting of the UN High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth (ComHEEG) aims at finalising and formally endorsing the recommendations and the report of the Commission, as well as discussing the way forward towards implementation of these recommendations.

Working for Health and Growth - Investing in the health workforce

20 September 2016
This new report launched by the UN High-Level Commission on Health and Employment Growth (ComHEEG) proposes ambitious solutions to ensure that the world has the right number of jobs for health workers with the right skills and in the right places to deliver universal health coverage.

Canada & USA North America Binational Meeting Report

24 March 2016

The PSI North America Binational meeting was held on March 4, 2016 in Ottawa and hosted by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). Robyn Benson (PSAC), the Canadian titular, and Candice Owley (American Federation of Teachers-AFT), the United States titular, co-chaired the meeting. This meeting followed the Canadian SUBRAC and the United States SUBRAC, both held on March 3, 2016.

Comments on Expert Group background note for the first meeting of the UN High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth

24 March 2016

PSI gave evidence to the United Nations High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth in Lyon, France on 23 March 2016. PSI argued that public spending on public health was both a government obligation to ensure universal access to health care and an investment in economic growth.

Background brief of the SESH Working Group meeting

20 July 2015

The background brief of the PSI working group meeting on Safe and Effective Staffing for Health (SESH), that met on 11-12 May 2015 at UNISON in London, is now available for download in English, French and Spanish.

The 4th International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector

04 March 2014
The 4th International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector

The 4th International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector will take place in Miami, USA, from 22-24 October 2014. The largest and most relevant mondial conference dedicated to work related aggression and violence within the health and social services sector.

Ghana: West African Health Sector Unions Network meeting

11 February 2014
participants

From 28-30 January 2014, PSI affiliates from Burkina, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone who form the West African Health Sector Unions Network (WAHSUN) met in Accra, Ghana.

Workshop: Deepening collaboration to promote the delivery of quality health care

11 February 2014
Group activity during WAHSUN workshop

The West African Health Sector Unions’ Network (WAHSUN) in collaboration with the Public Services International (PSI) held a 2-day workshop in the Garki district of Abuja, Nigeria, on 15-16 January 2014.

World Day for Decent Work 2013

03 October 2013

On 7 October we celebrate the World Day for Decent Work. Public Services International (PSI) joins the international trade union movement in demanding decent work for all and an end to the continuous attacks on trade union rights around the world. We want jobs that provide decent salaries and social security with safe working conditions.

PSI’s 29th World Congress in Durban, South Africa, 27-30 November 2012

22 November 2012

As part of its World Congress events, PSI is holding a series of pre-congress meetings on key issues.

Second Forum & Federation symposium on workers' health

22 May 2012

The next FORUM & FEDERATION Lunch-time Symposium on workers’ health will take place on 26 June from 12:00 to 14:00 at the International Labour Office (ILO), Room 3. The focus is the “Right to Work and Right to Health: Workers with Physical and Mental Disabilities”.