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José Luis Piedra
Tuesday, 13 August 2024, 12:46
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According to the latest data provided by the Spanish government's Ministry of Labour and Social Economy and the Junta de Andalucía's Ministry of Employment, Enterprise and Self-Employment, the work-related accident rate in the region continues to grow where it is least wanted - that is, in terms of fatal accidents, which during the first half of this year have claimed the lives of a total of 68 people.
The number of fatal accidents in the workplace rose by 7.9% between January and July compared to the first half of 2023, when 63 workers died. The statistics also show that in Andalucía a total of 52,095 occupational accidents that required sick leave were recorded up to June, 0.64 % more than in the same period in the previous year. The accident rate recorded in Andalucía accounts for 17 % of the total number of work-related accidents occurring in Spain as a whole.
Of the total number of these accidents in the region in the first half of the year, 44,529 happened during the working day, an increase of 0.15 % compared to last year, of which 412 were serious, 27 fewer than last year, and 56 resulted in the death of the worker, one more than in the previous year, according to the latest statistics.
The main cause of accidents resulting in sick leave during working hours in Andalucía was being struck by immobile objects while the worker was in motion. There were 14,152 accidents of this type at work, representing 31.78% of the total, followed by physical overstrain on the musculoskeletal system, with 11,174 accidents at work, 25% of the total.
The increase in the fatal accident rate has happened despite the fact that control and inspection efforts by the governing authorities have been strengthened. This shows in the figures for the first half of the year as a total of 2,426 sanctions were issued under Occupational Risk Prevention, 5.34% more than those imposed between January and June 2023.
Of the 383 penalties imposed for work-related accidents, 378 were classified as generally serious or more. Among those with the worst outcomes 12 were fatal, one was very serious and 118 were serious.
Faced with this statistic, the trade union UGT-A yesterday called for more resources, both human and material, to combat this work-related risk by providing more resources to the Inspección de Trabajo (the state-run inspectorate that checks compliance with health and safety rules in the workplace, among other duties), so that it can "control compliance with the rules".
The same union also called for more resources for the occupational health Prosecutor's Office to "investigate and determine responsibility in order to prevent fatal cases from going unpunished".
The union argued that "collaboration is necessary on the part of all parties involved and it is also necessary to create a figure similar to that of the regional delegate for the prevention of occupational hazards at a state level".
The UGT-A also proposed that a police presence would be useful to assist or collaborate with inspectors in preventive enforcement when situations arise from a serious or very serious infringement being detected.
The last point made by the trade union was that the accident figures for the first half of this year are "unacceptable" as they "show that companies are still failing to comply with occupational risk prevention regulations, or if they are complied with, it is not done to the letter and only in a token way to avoid fines".
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