Impact of job insecurity on the mental health of the population

Motion for a resolution | Doc. 15577 | 27 June 2022

Signatories:

Mr Antón GÓMEZ-REINO, Spain, UEL ; Ms Nerea AHEDO, Spain, ALDE ; Ms Marina BERLINGHIERI, Italy, SOC ; Ms Mònica BONELL, Andorra, ALDE ; Ms María Luisa BUSTINDUY, Spain, SOC ; Ms Laura CASTEL, Spain, UEL ; Mr Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Mr Sokratis FAMELLOS, Greece, UEL ; Mr Paul GAVAN, Ireland, UEL ; Mr Antonio GUTIÉRREZ LIMONES, Spain, SOC ; Mr Bjarni JÓNSSON, Iceland, UEL ; Mr George KATROUGALOS, Greece, UEL ; Ms Eva LÓPEZ, Andorra, ALDE ; Ms Ada MARRA, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Luz MARTINEZ SEIJO, Spain, SOC ; Mr Simon MOUTQUIN, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Paulo PISCO, Portugal, SOC ; Mr Thomas PRINGLE, Ireland, UEL ; Ms Selin SAYEK BÖKE, Türkiye, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Ms Susana SUMELZO, Spain, SOC

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

Sadly, the new work and labour relations models have spread precarious work conditions. Against the background of the progress of job insecurity, we have witnessed how the pandemic and the acceleration of the changes in the socio-economic and labour fields have aggravated the impact of mental health problems on societies. This “pandemic” of anxiety and stress cannot be blamed on individual factors; there is a whole series of social, political and working conditions that lie beneath it and which are harmful for people’s health. The feeling of living in a permanent crisis and the instability related to the pervasiveness of precariousness are key factors for the worsening of this phenomenon.

One of the main struggles of our time must be the fight against job insecurity, structured around four main areas: job instability, vulnerability, lower incomes and less access of affected population to social benefits and allowances.

Reports by international organisations such as the ILO or the WHO confirm the link between job insecurity and mental health. We know that bad working conditions have an impact on how workers face their personal, family and professional life. The Council of Europe must open the discussion and its Parliamentary Assembly must analyse the toll that the harmful ecosystem of job insecurity has on mental health, the daily lives of workers, their life expectations, their present and their future, in the line of the experiences carried out by some member States such as Spain, where the Ministry of Labour has launched a study on the impact of job insecurity on mental health.