Presentation of the Spanish Strategy for Safety and Health at Work, 2023-2027
Last week the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy presented the agreement reached for the Spanish Strategy for Safety and Health at Work 2023-2027, a consensus that has included the participation of the main interlocutors and social agents and representatives of the Autonomous Communities.
With the aim of achieving the greatest possible effectiveness in improving health and safety conditions at work and trying to anticipate and manage the possible threats and risks to the health of workers that emerge with the changing world of work, the Strategy has been developed around six strategic objectives:
- Improve the prevention of work accidents and occupational diseases.
- Manage changes derived from new forms of work organization, demographic evolution and climate change.
- Improve health and safety management in SMEs, a commitment to integration and training in occupational risk prevention.
- Reinforce the protection of workers in situations of greater vulnerability.
- Introduce the gender perspective in the field of safety and health at work.
- Strengthen the national occupational health and safety system to successfully face future crises.
Around these six objectives, lines of action have been devised, agreed upon by public administrations and social partners and adopted by the National Commission for Safety and Health at Work.
With respect to the prevention of work accidents, one of the actions that the strategy incorporates is to deepen the investigation of the causes that cause fatal work accidents due to non-traumatic pathologies, which represent 40% of fatal accidents, with the aim of outlining effective preventive policies.
Guidelines will be developed to inform about lifestyles, biomedical factors and work stressors that increase cardiovascular risk and their prevention strategies. In addition, the focus will be placed on the professional activities that accumulate the highest percentage of work accidents to intensify technical assistance campaigns and surveillance and control of compliance with regulations in coordination with the Labor and Social Security Inspection and public administrations.
Among the new features of the strategy, the creation of the National Agenda for the Prevention of Occupational Cancer stands out, which will make it possible to advance in the improvement of the identification of occupational diseases by compiling actions to understand the current situation of occupational cancer in the country.
Given the digital and ecological transformation and the demographic change that is taking place, the Occupational Risk Prevention Law and the Regulation of Prevention Services will be reviewed, to incorporate the integration of age and generational diversity in preventive management and reinforce the protection of workers against psychosocial risks.
Likewise, companies will be supported to identify and evaluate the risks derived from digitalization and new forms of employment, such as monitoring the safety and health conditions of people who are dedicated to the delivery or distribution of all types of merchandise.
Action plans will also be promoted to improve and control working conditions in activities most affected by environmental changes.
Another highlight is that, for the first time, special attention is dedicated to mental health with specific plans for the identification, evaluation and prevention of psychosocial risks in activities with a higher prevalence of mental illnesses, among other actions. Companies that accredit good practices in the management of emotional health and the prevention of mental illnesses will also be recognized.
