Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) - Spain (Ratification: 1985)

1. The Committee notes with interest the detailed information provided by the Government. It notes in particular that a large number of legislative texts - more than 100 according to the Government’s report - have been adopted regarding occupational safety and health which, in the Government’s view, have a particular importance to giving effect to the Convention: Decree No. 39/1999 of 5 November, on reconciling professional and family life; Legislative Decree No. 5/2000 of 4 August, approving the consolidated text of the Act on offences and penalties pertaining to social order; Decree No. 138/2000 of 4 February approving the regulation on organization and functioning of the work and social security inspector; Act No. 54/2003 of 12 December, reforming the framework of standards on occupational risk prevention; and Decree No. 171/2004 of 30 January, enlarging on the provisions of section 24 of Act No. 31/1995 of 8 November, on occupational risk prevention. The Government also draws the Committee’s attention to the adoption of the following texts: Decree No. 614/2001 of 8 June, on minimum standards in protecting workers’ safety and health against the risks involved in using electricity; Decree No. 374/2001 of 6 April, on protecting workers’ safety and health against the risks involved in the occupational use of chemical agents; Decree No. 681/2003 of 12 June, on protecting workers’ safety and health against the risks of exposure to explosive agents; Decree No. 1124/2000 of 16 June, on protecting workers’ safety and health against occupational exposure to carcinogenic agents; and Decree No. 349/2003 of 21 March, extending the latter’s scope to mutagenic agents. Noting those important developments, the Committee requests the Government to submit a detailed report, indicating the manner in which this new legislation contributes to the application of the Convention, including succinct information on the principal changes from the previous situation.

2. The Committee notes the information supplied in response to its comments of 2000 regarding the observations of the General Union of Workers (UGT) on occupational accidents in Spain. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that the high number of cases to which the UGT refers can be explained by the fact that the "occupational accident" definition, for the purpose of statistics, is broader in Spain than in other European countries, since Spain’s data include occupational accidents that occur on the way to work and "non-traumatic pathologies", accidents concerning employers and self-employed workers, as well as accidents causing an interruption of work of less than three days. The Government also indicates that the accidents are notified in a way which unduly increases the numbers, but that this anomaly is being rectified. Finally, the Government specifies that, based on a detailed examination of workplace accidents that had occurred between 1999-2003 - which are the relevant accidents in the context of inspection and prevention - the majority of these accidents were "less serious" accidents. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information concerning the trends regarding occupational accidents, as well as further information regarding the type of accidents considered as "less serious", other more serious accidents, and on measures taken after such "more serious accidents".

3. In its report, the Government also refers to specific measures taken at national and institutional level. These include the adoption, at sectoral meetings, of annual integrated programmes concerning the activities carried out by the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate in pursuing its objectives for improving occupational safety and health and reducing the number of occupational accidents. The Committee notes the information that one of the areas covered by the action plan to combat occupational accidents, adopted by the National Health and Safety Commission in 1998 is to "strengthen action in the areas of supervision, control and penalties". The Committee notes that this action plan was in particular aimed at establishing coordinated action between the various partners involved, such as the general state administration, the autonomous communities, and workers’ and employers’ organizations, in order to increase the efficiency of the various partners’ activities. In addition to these general measures, the abovementioned programmes covered all actions aimed at reducing the number of occupational accidents, without prejudice to autonomous communities’ specificities, as well as to the specific action for sectors with jobs that were deemed to be particularly dangerous or sectors having a higher number of accidents. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the above mentioned measures taken, as well as on their impact in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate if a revision of the action plan is foreseen in the near future.

4. The Committee notes the information that the legal reform referred to previously (paragraph 1) had become necessary, inter alia, to make employers more accountable with regard to the prevention of risks falling within their purview, and to extend their responsibility beyond a mere formal application of the obligations laid down in the collective agreement between the Government and the social partners. The abovementioned reform concerned the legal framework for risk prevention, taking into account new forms of work organization - in particular the use of subcontractors in the construction sector - and the strengthening of the supervisory system of the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate, inter alia, by stepping up activities to raise awareness and promote preventive action by setting up campaigns to inform the public about the prevention of occupational risks. The Committee notes in particular the information that Instruction No. 104/2001 on relations between the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate and the Public Prosecutor regarding criminal breaches of occupational safety and health was adopted, in order to promote greater coordination and efficiency in the application and defence of the penal provisions on offences pertaining to occupational safety and health. The Committee notes this information and observes that subject to a detailed examination of the newly adopted legislation, the efforts made during the period covered by the report hold promise for improved accident prevention countrywide. It hopes that all the Government's efforts, including the nationwide coordination of occupational safety and health activities will be reflected in the practice of enterprises and, ultimately, in the occupational accidents statistics. The Committee requests the Government in its next report to provide additional and detailed information on the manner in which the Convention is applied at the enterprise levels, including extracts of labour inspection reports and the number and nature of contraventions ordered.

5. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government in response to its comments of 2000 regarding the observations of the Democratic Confederation of Labour (CDT-Morocco) reporting acts of xenophobia, racism, and intolerance against migrant Moroccan workers and their families in El Ejido. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the report of the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate in Almeria, including the examination of the action undertaken regarding foreign workers. According to the Government, this examination, which started in September 2003 and lasted for nine months, covered 173 reports of contraventions and revealed that the Provincial Inspectorate was not informed by Moroccan workers of irregularities, discrimination, lack of supervision of employment and working conditions in rural areas, or bad treatment affecting the workers’ dignity and physical and psychological integrity. The Government concludes that it is impossible to ascertain the existence of ill treatment and discrimination against these workers. The Committee points out that in previous comments, likewise based on an observation from CDT-Morocco, it referred to particularly harsh working conditions in greenhouses, where migrant workers are often employed and that the government stated that an agreement between agriculturists’ organizations and trade unions on the scrupulous application of the collective bargaining agreements and that occupational safety and health inspectors are also collaborating. The Committee notes that the Government's latest report contains no information in this respect. With reference to the significant efforts to improve the occupational safety and health situation in the country demonstrated by the legislative changes introduced, the Committee urges the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that all workers - irrespective of the nature of the employment relationship under which they work - are able to draw the benefit thereof through effective implementation of the relevant legislation, efficient dissemination of information regarding applicable laws and regulations including possible means of redress and further improvements of the labour inspection services including the development of appropriate methods to monitor the working conditions of all workers in the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide the information mentioned and to keep it informed of any progress made regarding the application of the legislation to all workers in the country.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comment in 2006.]