The German Minister for Labour and Social Affairs

Welcome to A+A!

 

Work is of special importance in Germany. Nowhere else, not even among our neighbours, is the focus on work as strong as it is here. Our country is famous for the special status that work has for each and every individual. Wanting to do good work just for its own sake is a cultural value which has helped us work our way to the top of the global economic ladder.

 

The crisis on the world's capital markets has further increased the importance of highly-qualified, motivated employees, a functioning partnership between labour and management, employee participation in enterprises and employee-oriented corporate and management cultures.

 

The culture of work is our capital in the global arena. Work constitutes half of one's life, work provides meaning. Employees want to play a role, want to make a contribution. They will be able to develop their potential for innovation only when the crisis on the world's markets does not put a brake on the development of a modern, employee-oriented corporate culture.

For this reason, we need more than just faith that we will get through the current crisis. In this situation in particular, the best employers are increasingly focusing on transparency and trust and are informing their employees in greater detail and more thoroughly about their company's situation. This eliminates fear, hinders paralysis and sets energy free. And right now we especially need innovation for safe and healthy enterprises. This in turn requires innovation for organising and shaping work.

 

With this in mind, we initiated the For a New Work Culture campaign where we encourage discussion, call upon enterprises and employees, social partners and industrial associations to get involved and want to work with them to develop and disseminate ideas and new avenues for action. We want to work together to shape the transition to a society that is driven by services, information and knowledge.

 

The globalisation of markets, technological developments such as the increasing digitisation of entire areas of life, and demographic change – which is also taking place in company workforces – call for new strategies and solutions. In times of crisis it is necessary to strike out on new paths.

Which is why we are launching this initiative now. Here we can draw on the valuable experience gathered in connection with the New Quality of Work initiative and the pilot programme to fight work-related illness. We are stepping up these measures and will not flag in our efforts: Effective occupational safety and health requires not just the right substantive priorities but also efficient structures for implementing them.

 

We have laid the foundation for both with the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy (GDA). With this alliance between Germany's federal government, state governments and occupational accident insurance funds, we are realigning prevention along the trouble spots in occupational safety and health. The Safety and Health at Work Act and Book VII of the Social Code have been amended to give the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy a solid legal basis. The overriding aims have been defined: Systematically implement occupational safety and health measures in all workplaces, foster health-conscious behaviour on a targeted basis and cultivate an effective culture of prevention.

 

During the first GDA period through the year 2012 we aim to substantially reduce not only serious work accidents, musculoskeletal disorders and strains and serious skin disorders but also mental strains and illnesses. When we all pull in the same direction, concrete progress will soon be evident at the enterprise level.

 

The A+A International Congress for Occupational Safety and Health is the leading platform for information, the exchange of experience, and innovation at national and international level.

 

This international trade fair enjoys worldwide recognition in the area of new working methods and occupational safety and health products. International and European organisations and bodies use the A+A for a cross-border exchange of experience in joint events.

 

The international conference Implementing Global Standards for Safety and Health at Work being sponsored by the International Labour Organization will take centre stage here. Experts for occupational safety, health and work structuring value the conference and the fair as a forum for discussing concepts, exchanging information on experience gathered with the use of particular products and methods, gathering first-hand information on new developments and obtaining concrete assistance for implementing occupational safety and health on the ground.

 

Take advantage of this knowledge: Share in the experience of experts from Germany and abroad and make a constructive contribution to fostering more innovation in your company and workplace. The broad expert discussions at the A+A are an important cornerstone on which we will build a new culture of work together.

 

Olaf Scholz

Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs

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