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Substantially more resources have been put into prevention, but working conditions have not improved. This is the paradoxical finding made by the recently-published fifth Spanish survey on working conditions.
Compared to the last survey, done in 1999, the organisation of prevention has certainly improved in terms of numbers. The share of firms with a prevention rep has risen from 12.8% to 41.6%. In 1999, 24% of businesses had no form of preventive service. This had fallen to about 9% by 2003, but this increased preventive provision is mostly bought in from outside providers who have little influence on the employer’s strategic choices. Over 51% of workplaces have only an external preventive service, and no in-house provision, while 22% combine an external service with a different form of prevention provision. The Spanish prevention system also falls down when it comes to training for workers. Nearly half of Spanish workers receive no occupational health training, rising to above 60% in workplaces with fewer than 10 workers.
Dissatisfaction with working conditions is growing: the number of workers who are happy with their working conditions fell from 63.1% in 1999 to 59% in 2003. Work organisation is a source of growing discontent: nearly 10% of workers complain about working too fast, 6% a lack of autonomy. The health impacts are also clear. 15.7% of workers went to see their doctor about a work-related health problem in the year preceding the survey (against 13% in the 1999 survey), while 16.8% of workers regularly take painkillers (against 12.5% in 1999).
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