Background information

The social partners in the industrial cleaning sector jointly released a booklet on occupational health and safety measures for industrial cleaners in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The social partners are the Trade Union for Building, Forestry, Agriculture and the Environment (IG BAU) and the sectoral employer liability association (Berufsgenossenschaft, BG BAU) and the industrial cleaning guild association (Bundesinnungsverband des Gebäudereiniger-Handwerks, BIV).

Content of measure

The new OSH standard implements the new SARS-CoV-2 Worker Protection regulation of 20 August 2020, released by the German Ministry for Labour and Social Policy (Bundesministeriums für Arbeit und Soziales, BMAS). The new federal regulation demands special hygiene measures to protect workers from contracting SARS-CoV-2. The standard helps companies comply with the new regulation and protect their workers through increased hygiene measures. The agreed standards include the use of face masks at work when social distancing cannot be guaranteed. The practical measures include provision of protective equipment in local facilities and the installation of small teams with minimum fluctuation to avoid varying contacts among employees.

Use of measure

Through their compliance with the BG BAU coronavirus OSH standard, companies comply with German coronavirus OSH law. The updated version of the Industrial Cleaning COVID-19 OSH standard dates 9 October 2020.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Social partners jointly Social insurance	Employer Employers organisation

Social partners

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	Direct consultation outside a formal body	Direct consultation outside a formal body

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

1. Social partners voluntarily revised the existing sectoral OSH standards in order to ensure compliance with new federal worker protection legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The result was the Industrial Cleaning COVID-19 Worker Protection Handbook.
2. The relevant sectoral organisations from the employer and employee side were involved.
3. Social partner organisations jointly provided the resources to create the handbook. Employers are responsible for funding the implementation of hygiene measures such providing protective equipment or enabling work in small, stable teams.

Views and reactions

The social partner organisations involved in the creation of the handbook are in the agreement that the outcome of their collaboration is useful. All organisations involved present the Industrial Cleaning COVID-19 Worker Protection Handbook on their organisational websites.

Sectors and occupations

Sources

• 30 April 2020: Case 1142 BG BAU press release
• 09 October 2020: Case 1142 BG BAU OSH Standards
• 01 June 2022: Trade Association Construction Industry (BG Bau) (www.bgbau.de)