Pilar Simón: “Prevention is a strategic priority for the Government of La Rioja”
Pilar Simón has held the General Directorate of Labor and Occupational Health of La Rioja since last year. He stars in the fourth interview within the framework of the #VamosACreérnoslo campaign, promoted by Simón has a degree in Political Science and Public Management and a diploma in Labor Relations from the University of La Rioja.
His work has been linked to very diverse areas: local administration, unions and private companies.
With this interview, we delve into the priorities, progress and challenges that guide preventive action in the region, promoted by the Rioja Strategy 2025-2028, a framework that reinforces the commitment of the Government of La Rioja to the improvement of working conditions, the protection of workers and the role that mutual insurance companies play as strategic allies on this path.
2026 has been declared the Year of Safety and Health at Work. What meaning does this declaration have for your Autonomous Community?
The Government of La Rioja has the firm commitment to comply with the constitutional duty of ensuring the safety and health of workers in our Autonomous Community. In this context, in January 2025, the Rioja Strategy for Safety and Health at Work 2025-2028 was signed, the result of the agreement between the Government of La Rioja and the trade union and business organizations that are part of the Rioja Council for Social Dialogue.
The Strategy represents the materialization of the Government of La Rioja's commitment to protecting the safety and health of workers and improving working conditions, from a perspective based on social dialogue.
In addition, it is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and, in particular, with SDG 8. Its general objective is “to achieve safe and healthy work environments that contribute positively to the health of workers and the progress of companies and society.”
To achieve this, it is essential, first of all, to avoid health damage derived from work and, at the same time, develop actions aimed at the continuous improvement of working conditions. All of this requires integrating the preventive culture at all levels of companies and having the necessary involvement of society as a whole.
How do you think the work of mutual societies fits within the preventive system of your community and what improvements or lines of work do you think could be introduced to improve the preventive culture of our mutual members?
Objective 6 of the Rioja Strategy for Safety and Health at Work 2025-2028 consists of “promoting and encouraging preventive culture throughout society” and includes training, dissemination, awareness, information and incentive actions.
In this sense, we consider that all organizations related to the prevention of occupational risks, including mutual insurance companies, can contribute significantly to achieving this objective.
Mutual insurance companies play a fundamental role in the preventive system thanks to their proximity to companies and their extensive knowledge of the labor reality of our Community. Your contribution is especially valuable
In a community like La Rioja, where small and medium-sized businesses predominate, this work takes on special relevance. For this reason, from the Government of La Rioja we maintain a firm commitment to promoting a preventive culture, based on collaboration between administrations, social agents and the business community. In this context, mutual societies actively collaborate with the Occupational Health Service, attached to this General Directorate, in the development of different training activities. For example, they participated in the “Innovation in PRL” Congress, held on May 28 and 29, 2025, as well as in the 2025 Training Offer and the one corresponding to 2026, by giving workshops and participating in Technical Conferences.
In the case of Mutua Natalia Fernández Laviada, Deputy General Director of Prevention, Quality and Communication of
Looking to the future, we consider it a priority to continue promoting actions aimed at SMEs, strengthening the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders and psychosocial risks, and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by digital tools. Only through collaboration between all agents can we continue to move towards safer and healthier work environments. On this path, mutual insurance companies are valuable allies.
What specific measures are being implemented in the sectors with the highest incidence rate?
Objective 1 of the Strategy consists of “reducing workplace accidents” and contemplates different actions within the following lines of action: analysis and research; advice and technical assistance; surveillance and control; dissemination, awareness and information; and incentive.
These actions are, for the most part, specified in the annual planning of the Occupational Health Service, which also takes into account the evolution of the accident rate in order to adapt the actions to the needs of each moment.
In the sector with the highest incidence rate in La Rioja, which currently corresponds to Construction, surveillance and control visits to works are carried out by the technicians of said Service, as Qualified Technicians, in accordance with the provisions of article 5 of Decree 33/2008, of May 23 (BOR no. 71, of May 29).
During 2025, a total of 246 scheduled visits to construction sites were carried out, which gave rise to 56 requirements
The results of these actions show the scope of this work. During 2025, a total of 246 scheduled visits to construction sites were carried out, which gave rise to 56 requirements to correct the deficiencies detected in terms of occupational risk prevention.
Of these requirements, 52 were met, which represents a 92.9% degree of compliance. This data reflects a high level of attention to the technical indications made and a mostly favorable response from the requested companies.
Added to these actions is the work carried out within the framework of the Agreement signed with the Construction Labor Foundation of La Rioja (FLC) for the development of specific qualification activities in terms of occupational risk prevention, aimed at workers who carry out their profession or trade in the construction sector or in related sectors included in the scope of application of the General Collective Agreement of the Construction Sector.
Within this framework, the Foundation's technicians carried out a total of 517 visits in 2025, of which 406 corresponded to works with a project and 111 to works without a project, with the aim of promoting and promoting good practices in the prevention of occupational risks and verifying existing safety conditions.
The set of these actions allows not only to detect and correct possible non-compliance, but also to promote good practices, reinforce awareness and consolidate a preventive culture in a sector that is especially relevant from the point of view of workplace accidents.
