Opening remarks and welcoming of the participants by the presidents of the sections.

	Janne Reini   President of the ISSA Section on Prevention in Transportation   Finland
	Jörg Schudmann   president of the ISSA Section on Prevention of Occupational Risks in Health Services   Germany

Understanding Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace
Duncan Spencer, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), United Kingdom
This session will explore the impact of health & safety management on organizations and workers and how cultural differences can pose challenges in a multinational workforce. The session will draw from the study of values, ethics and rule development to explore these challenges.



A European approach to occupational health and safety in multicultural teams
Annick Starren, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), Spain
Intercultural aspects play an important role when aiming to improve occupational safety and health within multicultural teams. With the growing proportion of migrant workers in the European labor force during the past decades and the ongoing global and geopolitical tensions, this trend is likely to continue. Not surprisingly, intercultural skills become increasingly important for occupational safety and health managers.

Cultural diversity in the workplace: potential and challenges for occupational health and safety
Bouchra Achoumrar, Institute for European Health and Social Economy (IEGUS), Germany
In the face of increasing migration, diversity is not only a social reality, but also a great potential for the development of company skills. This diversity challenges organizations to adapt and further develop their structures and processes in order to work efficiently and sustainably. This presentation showcases some of the results of a comparative study on the transcultural quality of care in the setting of inpatient geriatric care and highlights the effects of this cultural diversity on occupational health and safety.

The dimensions of occupational health and safety in a multicultural labor force: The Malaysian experience
Azlan Darus, Social Security Organization (SOCSO), Malaysia
In Malaysia, the management of occupational safety and health faces the challenge of a multiethnic, multicultural and multinational society, each group with their own unique world view. In such a diverse setting, the prevention of occupational injury and health not only relies on the OSH management system, but also the social approach to the specific groups.

Creating safe workplaces for newcomers: Occupational health and safety in the context of linguistic and cultural diversity
Basak Yanar, Institute for Work & Health (IWH), Canada
Supporting newcomers’ safety at work requires employers to respond to diverse needs of newcomers related to occupational safety and health and to develop inclusive safety practices. This presentation will provide insights from research conducted in Canada on safe work integration of recent immigrant and refugees.




Increasing share of immigrant employees at workplaces: challenges for occupational safety management
Maria Lindholm, University of Tampere, Finland
The European Union’s strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027 focuses on anticipating and managing change caused by demographic transition in the working life. The aim of the presented study is to determine how the increasing share of immigrants at workplaces will change working life and what concrete challenges for occupational safety management have been identified in international studies regarding immigration. 


Results of the survey: Migration and health and safety at work
Katrin Boege, Institute for Work and Health (IAG), Germany
In 2023, the IAG conducted the survey "Influence of migration on the prevention activities of the social accident insurance institutions" among labor inspectors and prevention staff with customer contact at the German social accident insurance institutions. The aim of the survey was to identify the current challenges and opportunities in the field of migration and intercultural aspects in relation to safety and health at work. The results will be used to determine where there is current and future need for action.

In order to promote the sustainable integration of skilled workers, the expectations and preparations in their countries of origin also play a major role. This panel discussion will showcase perspectives from various speakers who will shed light on the preparation process and the skilled worker situation in their home countries.

The exodus of healthcare workers from Ghana and implications for skill-mix innovations towards achieving universal health coverage
Daniel Opoku, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Health Workers‘ Wellbeing - Effects of Migration and Diversity
Anna Sofia Fajardo, Philipine College of Occupational Medicine, Philippines

How to support the skilled workers in their country of origin and along the way of their new work life – a Botswanan perspective
Masego Zulu-Lekgowe, S.H.E. Masters, Botswana

Mexican nurses' expectations of the German working environment
Tammo Diefenbach, medicruiter GmbH, Mexico

Cultural differences in seafarers' perception of stress and the particular challenge of training ship officers
Marcus Oldenburg, Maritime Medicine Working Group of the Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine, Germany
The linguistic or cultural differences among the employees on board of merchant ships can lead to communication problems. Overall, seafarers’ cultural background should be taken into account when assessing their psychophysical stress by examining their working situation. Consequently, further requirements arise for prospective ship’s officers to lead crew members with different cultural backgrounds.

Cultural diversity at the DHL hub in Leipzig - challenges and solutions in daily operations
Anja Röder and Matthias Forst, DHL Hub Leipzig GmbH, Germany
This contribution centers around the range of tasks at DHL HUB Leipzig GmbH with a focus on interculturality and its challenges in everyday working life.




Cultural diversity at the workplace - a challenge for prevention managers
Kay Schulte, German Road Safety Council (DVR), Germany
In a culturally diverse working environment, prevention experts must develop an understanding of the fact that risks, particularly in the context of mobility, may be assessed differently in other parts of the world than in our latitudes. This has an impact on the type of communication, formulation of statements, conceptualization of didactic approaches and even the design of prevention media.

 


Closing Day I

Insights into the integration journey of three skilled workers in health care – Testimonial Talk
BG Hospital Hamburg, Germany
In the topic of cultural diversity, it is all the more important to not just talk about but also with foreign professionals. Hence this format in which three care professionals who have been working in Germany for several years will have their voice heard. Through their experiences we hope to gain insights into what hurdles they have encountered on their way towards integration and to identify potential for improvement.

• Marilyn Vargas (employee representative & integration manager)
• Pedro Miguel Da Silva Pardal (Portugal)
• Zlatko Krstic (Serbia)
• Maria Beatriz Velilla Vergara (Colombia)

Multilingual information transfer and reaching target groups to promote occupational safety and health using the example of seasonal workers in agriculture
Ina Siebeneich, Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (SVLFG), Germany
Harvest work in German agriculture is largely dominated by foreign seasonal workers. The SVLFG insures this group of workers in the area of accident insurance. The core concern is to promote occupational safety and health protection for this target group through preventive measures. A good flow of information and appropriate communication are crucial for this.


„WIR im Krankenhaus“ (Us in the hospital) - Supporting the integration of migrant and recruited nurses from abroad into the workplace
Oliver Lauxen, Institute for Economy, Work and Culture, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
This project aims to support the integration of foreign nursing staff into the company and strengthen employee loyalty. This is promoted through mentoring for the migrant workers by the existing staff and through targeted qualification measures.

"migrants care" - Recruitment and pre-qualification of migrants for nursing and elderly care in Austria
Petra Dachs, Volkshilfe Wien, Austria
"migrants care" is a cooperation project between the largest organizations providing mobile care and support in Austria. The aim is to promote consultation and pre-qualification measures for people who are non-native speakers to enter the care sector. 




Training program: Intercultural Teams in the care sector
Julia Ludwig-Hartmann, Coach for Occupational Health and Safety, Germany
The training course offered by the German Social Accident Insurance Institution provides inpatient care facilities with the skills they need for successful intercultural cooperation. Employees are sensitized to risks that can arise due to communication difficulties or lack of cultural context. They learn to recognize these and to avoid them through targeted strategies. In this way, the training contributes to the promotion of healthy and safe working conditions for all employees.

Skill toolbox for the integration of skilled care professionals
Sarina Strumpen, Ha Phuong Le-Fitzek, German Competence Centre for International Skilled Workers in the Health and Nursing Professions, Germany
The Welcome Culture and Integration toolkit was developed as a guide for healthcare and care facilities. It supports the establishment of company integration management tailored to the respective facility.




Cultural diversity at the DHL hub in Leipzig - challenges and solutions based on the "Spain project" example
Anja Weihmann, Matthias Forst, DHL Hub Leipzig GmbH, Germany
In August 2021, a pilot project was launched at the DHL Hub Leipzig, which has so far resulted in the recruitment of several hundred new employees in Spain. Today we will show how the project came about, how it has developed and how it is currently being incorporated into the company's regular recruitment process. There are also insights into the corresponding challenges and lessons learned.

Health and safety in a culturally diverse working environment - what does it take?
OSH-Talk
When it comes to cultural diversity, what challenges do labor inspectors face in member companies? How can a safety specialist prepare for cultural differences in the company? And what is important when it comes to providing instruction across language barriers? We want to discuss these and other questions with health and safety experts in the field.

• Aouatef Ben Amor, Labor inspector, BG Verkehr, Germany

• Luiana Martins Baltzer, Operational Health & Coaching Specialist, LyondellBasell (LYB), Germany
• Christian Schumacher, EHS Manager, German Society for Occupational Hygiene e.V. (DGAH), Germany