195226 Structural Causes of Workplace Accidents

Monday, November 9, 2009: 11:30 AM

José Aureliano Martín Segura, PhD, Prof , Department of Management, Granada University, Ceuta, Spain
José Luis Navarro Espigares, PhD, Prof, Mgr , Economic Department, University Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain
Irene Martín Fernández, Student , Economic Department, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
  
The total number of workplace deaths in the world increased by more than 2.2 million, according to ILO data. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers type of employment contract and working conditions to be the most important causes of workplace accidents. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the U.S.A has reached similar conclusions.

In Europe, workers aged 18 to 24 are at least 50% more likely to suffer work injuries than more experienced workers. In addition, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work reports that one third of the total number of accidents per year are related to handling hazardous substances. The Spanish National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health at Work corroborates this trend for 2007 as well.

This work analyzes, by means of a logit model, the relationship between work accidents and four variables: GDP, total employment, company size, and type of employment contract. The study examines the functioning of the Spanish labor market from 1992 through 2007.

The results of our model verify that type of employment contract (particularly temporary) and size of companies (especially those with fewer than 50 workers) are the two main structural causes that explain the work-related accident rate in Spain.

Temporary employment contracts and small size of companies are usually regarded as positive factors from the perspective of competitiveness and labor market flexibility. However, the increased rate of workplace accident risk shown in our findings should inform labor authority actions concerning safety at work.

Learning Objectives:
- To analyze, the relationship between work accidents and four variables: GDP, total employment, company size, and type of employment contract in Spanish labor market from 1992 through 2007. - To explain that the increased rate of workplace accident risk shown in our findings should inform labor authority actions concerning safety at work.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a very active member in Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), one of the most important labor union in Spain. As representative of this labor union I work as a specialized lawyer in occupational health. I have participated in numerous conferences and meetings on health and safety at work. I also work as a professor on business management and economy at the University of Granaa (Spain).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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