Article by Carlos Aranda on the occasion of April 28
On the occasion of World Day for Safety and Health at Work, like every April 28,
Every April 28, the World Day for Safety and Health at Work invites us to pause, reflect and look carefully at the place where we spend a good part of our lives: the work environment. Beyond a date on the calendar, this day is a call to action for institutions, companies and workers. Because the prevention of occupational risks cannot be a one-time task, but rather a constant commitment.
Celebrating this day is an opportunity to remember that the right to work in safe and healthy conditions is fundamental. Carlos Aranda
It was in 2003 when the International Labor Organization institutionalized this day, and today, more than two decades later, we continue to face old and new challenges.
The Mutual Collaborators with Social Security play an essential role in this endeavor. We not only accompany companies and workers in the recovery process or in the management of benefits. We also work to build, together with them, safer and healthier work environments.
New risks and new solutions for the new work reality
The work reality evolves at great speed. Emerging factors have been added to traditional physical risks, a direct consequence of digitalization. We talk about digital fatigue, techno-stress or hyperconnectivity. Invisible, but very real, risks that affect people's mental and emotional health. In this new context, prevention must take a comprehensive view: physical, psychosocial and organizational.
This is an urgent change of mentality for SMEs and micro-SMEs. Because we cannot forget that the business structure of our country is dominated by these companies, in which prevention is still too often perceived as a simple bureaucratic procedure. Changing this mentality and helping them integrate health and safety into their daily management is one of our main commitments.
Promote preventive culture through action and innovation
We must promote initiatives that seek to transform this reality, and we must work with the premise that all occupational accidents and illnesses can be prevented if risks are adequately managed. Another way to reduce accidents is to opt for personalized technical advice, because each company is unique and needs tailored solutions.
In short, prevention is not a destination, but rather a path. A path that we must travel together, administrations, companies, mutual societies and working people. Only in this way will we be able to build a true preventive culture, in which health and safety are not an add-on, but an essential part of a job well done.
