Eurofound's COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the crisis, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for case AT-2020-13/588 – Updated – measures in Austria
Country | Austria , applies nationwide |
Time period | Open ended, started on 26 March 2020 |
Type | Non-binding recommendations or other texts |
Category |
Protection of workers, adaptation of workplace
– Occupational health and safety |
Author | Bernadette Allinger (Forba) and Eurofound |
Case created | 14 April 2020 (updated 11 January 2022) |
The Austrian government did not want to halt construction work in times of the pandemic, so the social partners in the construction sector worked out, in cooperation with the labour inspectorate, instructions on how to protect workers against the Coronavirus in the construction industry. This resulted in a guide that was published on 26 March 2020. It applies to all workers working on construction sites. The set of instructions complements the general COVID-19 protective measures (i.e. distance of at least one meter to each other; wash hands thoroughly; do not touch your face; cough in the bent elbows or sneeze in a handkerchief, which is then immediately disposed of) - see cases AT-2020-12/590 and AT-2020-12/589 in this database.
To comply with occupational hygiene on the construction site, sanitary measures must be taken in accordance with Section 34 and Section 35 of the Construction Worker Protection Ordinance (BauV).
Additional measures in the areas industrial hygiene; organisational measures; work equipment; risk groups; minimization obligation during transport; dormitories; and coordination of work must also be implemented:
Industrial hygiene
Organisational measures
Work equipment
Transport
Dormitories
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
22 November 2021 |
In general, on construction sites, regulations and protective measures that apply to places of professional activity apply (see [AT-2020-12/589] (https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/AT-2020-12_589). The social partners' instructions were last updated on 29 January 2021 to the then valid legal regulations. The current measures of the Ministry of Health take precedence over the provisions of the operating instructions. However, according to the Labour Inspectorate, the instructions can be well used as an aid to creating a COVID-19 prevention concept (which is foreseen for workplaces with over 51 employees as), as well as an aid to implementing COVID-19 measures in businesses with fewer employees. |
The measure has to be applied on all construction sites.
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Particular professions
|
Sector specific set of companies
|
Does not apply to citizens |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Social partners jointly |
No special funding required
|
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
---|---|---|
Role | Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative | Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative |
Form | Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal | Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal |
Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
The sectoral social partners in the construction industry developed this guide in cooperation with the labour inspectorate.
Social partners are supportive of the measure.
This case is sector-specific (only private sector)
Economic area | Sector (NACE level 2) |
---|---|
F - Construction | F41 Construction of buildings |
F42 Civil engineering | |
F43 Specialised construction activities |
This case is occupation-specific
Occupation (ISCO level 2) |
---|
Building and related trades workers, excluding electricians |
Drivers and mobile plant operators |
Citation
Eurofound (2020), Instructions from the social partners for dealing with construction sites due to COVID-19, case AT-2020-13/588 (measures in Austria), COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, http://eurofound.link/covid19eupolicywatch
Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process. All information is preliminary and subject to change.