On April 28, the International Day for Safety and Health at Work, the socialists remember all those workers who have lost their lives, who have been injured, or have seen their health diminished, due to the simple fact of exercising the Right to work as a basic constitutional social value. It is also a day of solidarity with their families who have seen how their lives have undergone a radical change.
On this day we reaffirm our commitment to defending health and decent, safe and healthy working conditions. The motto chosen this year by the International Labor Organization (ILO) has been “A safe and healthy working environment is a principle and a fundamental right at work”, and is in line with the decision adopted at its 110th Conference held last June 11, in which the right to a safe and healthy work environment was included in the fundamental principles and rights at work. This translates into a commitment from all the member states that make up the ILO to respect and promote this right, whether or not they have ratified the relevant conventions (C155 and C187), making it clear that they are universal rights and that they apply in all states. regardless of the level of economic development.
An indicator to measure the situation of the preventive system and the state of health of workers are the figures for accidents at work. According to provisional data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, in 2022 in our country there have been a total of 1,196,425, of which 564,701 are without sick leave and 631,724 with sick leave. The total number of accidents at work with leave has increased by 10.4% more than those produced in the previous year.
826 workers died due to work accidents in 2022, 121 more than in 2021. Both fatal accidents during the workday and commuting deaths are increasing.
Regarding serious accidents, which are rarely mentioned but which usually leave difficult consequences for workers and their families, a total of 3,801 occurred during work hours, 2.7% more than in 2021, while accidents ‘in itinere’ of a serious nature increased by 4.9%, with a total of 913 accidents. All of them intolerable figures for an advanced society such as the Spanish one involved in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and with its compliance tool, which is the 2030 Agenda.
Another reference to take into account are work-related diseases. The figures are still insignificant with respect to work accidents. In 2022, 22,589 occupational disease reports were reported in CEPROSS (occupational disease reporting system) and 19,731 work accidents in PANOTRATSS (Non-Traumatic Pathologies reporting system), making a total of 42,320 work-related diseases, 3.5% of all accidents at work. The lack of notification and declaration of the same is confirmed, and therefore its non-prevention. There is no interest in their declaration, they are only visible to the workers who suffer from them. Neither the public powers, nor the companies, nor the entities in charge of its prevention and its communication, nor the prevention services, advance towards a greater registration of the same, making it difficult to act against them.
Occupational cancers, musculoskeletal diseases, or pathologies derived from psychosocial risks still do not have a defined space in the preventive field. An example of this is asbestos and the havoc it continues to cause to working people.
It is worth making a stop at occupational cancer, which is one of the main causes of occupational mortality in the European Union. It is estimated that carcinogens are the cause of about 100,000 deaths each year from occupational cancer. The EU Strategic Framework indicates that 52% of work-related deaths in Europe are caused by cancer. The fight against work-related cancers must become a priority for our country. In 2022, Group 6 of carcinogens is the one that registers the lowest number of reported reports, 107, only 20 with loss. Of which 76 correspond to cancers due to exposure to asbestos, only 12 with low.
The same happens with diseases derived from psychosocial risks, depression, stress, anxiety, none of them are found in Royal Decree 1299/2006, of November 10, which approves the table of occupational diseases, therefore , are not reported. In the best of cases, they are declared as a work accident (art. 156 e) of RD 8/2015 revised text of the General Social Security Law). In 2022, only 113 reports have been reported for mental disorders as Non-Traumatic Pathologies.
We once again check how the figures do not reflect the reality of the occupational mental health situation, since these damages are not recorded as an occupational contingency. This contrasts with the scientific evidence that establishes the association between work organization factors, such as the intensification or combination of high demands and low control at work, and the deterioration of mental health.
The lack of preventive culture in society and in companies remains latent. The educational system has not internalized the concept of risk, neither at school, nor in regulated or non-regulated training, not even in many cases it arises in the formative itineraries of professional training. Just as efforts are made to carry out awareness campaigns for traffic accidents or against domestic violence, they should be made against workplace accidents. We must bring this problem closer to society. It is not tolerable that workers and workers die in their jobs, since most of the time accidents at work can be avoided.
Given the situation described, in the context of this April 28, 2023, it is an obligation to raise the precarious situation in which the victims professional contingency. Behind each figure there is always a face, a face, working people, families submerged in immense pain caused by an accident or a serious illness that in many cases generates disabilities, increases inequality and job insecurity.
Victims need help, and the preventive system is currently not providing it. Insurance processing, social security procedures, compensation management, legal assistance, psychological help, retraining and new professional training, are some of the needs that arise after an accident and that lack any assistance from the system for their resolution. preventive. Establishing collaboration mechanisms with the victims and instruments that facilitate the resolution of the inconveniences that arise after the occurrence of a professional contingency must be a priority. This must be one of the aspects that the Regulatory Reform of the preventive framework addresses and that must be incorporated into public policies. Let’s build a healthier and safer work model that stops this social scourge.
It is necessary to incorporate into the political debate reflections on the need to move towards a public system of occupational health and social protection, which reduces precariousness in addition to contemplating the help and care of victims of work-related accidents and diseases.
For this reason, on this international day for safety and health at work, we have the obligation as socialists to take stock of preventive policies and to analyze how it is possible to stop this situation. Occupational accidents entail suffering and great emotional, social, and economic costs, let’s build a healthier and safer world of work. Let’s recover the concept of decent, decent work and solve the debt with the victims of professional contingency, helping them to have a decent life and be able to live in a state of decent welfare.
