2026 Year of Safety and Health at Work
At the end of last year, the Council of Ministers approved an institutional declaration on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the approval of Law 31/1995, of November 8, which declares the year 2026 as Year of safety and health at work.
The text recalls that the Constitution entrusts public powers, as one of the guiding principles of social and economic policy, with the obligation to "ensure safety and hygiene at work", a place where people cannot put their health at risk or risk their lives regardless of where they are located or the number of people the company has.
New forms of employment confront us with challenges hitherto ignored, such as the increase in psychosocial risks, the lack of full effective equality between men and women - whose pathologies and prevention needs have been largely forgotten -, diseases derived from work or the aging of the active population, at a critical demographic moment, and those derived from climate change whose virulent consequences we are already suffering.
The Spanish Occupational Health and Safety Strategy 2023-2027 (EESST), approved in the Council of Ministers on March 14, 2023 with the agreement of the Autonomous Communities, trade union organizations and business organizations, constitutes the framework of reference to guide actions regarding the prevention of occupational risks during this period and arises thanks to social dialogue, the result of the agreement between the different Public Administrations with powers in matters of safety and health at work and social partners.
With this institutional declaration we want to emphasize the following points and objectives for the year 2026:
a) Safety and health at work is a fundamental right and a shared responsibility.
b) The adaptation of prevention regulations to emerging risks will continue to be promoted.
c) Permanent dissemination, awareness and information campaigns will be promoted.
d) Research, innovation and knowledge transfer will be strengthened.
e) A policy of national and international cooperation in preventive matters will be promoted.
f) Educational actions adapted to each teaching field will be promoted.
