From 2012 to 2018, sick leave due to occupational diseases has shot up 35% - from 7,466 to 11,382 - figures that are consistent with the evolution of applications. If 15,644 parts were processed seven years ago, in 2018 the figure stood at 24,082. So far from 2019, from January to August, 18,585 parties have already been notified to begin the process of temporary disability, so it is expected that this year even exceed the figures of 2018.
Pedro Pablo Sanz Casado, managing director of the Association of Mutual Accidents at Work (AMAT), emphasizes that, although this increase corresponds to the recovery of the labor market that has occurred in recent years, "we must also have Bear in mind that due to the entry into force - on January 1, 2019 - of Royal Decree 28/2018, there are changes in the social coverage of self-employed workers, the coverage for occupational diseases being compulsory ».
Despite this continued rise, the figures published by the Ministry of Labor, Migration and Social Security do not reflect reality, according to the coordinator of the Confederal Secretariat of Occupational Health of UGT, José de las Morenas: «What we can observe is that there is still an under-declaration of occupational diseases that mutual societies continue to consider as common diseases . The recognition of professional contingencies is difficult. It is enough to analyze the number of casualties due to cancer: are they really all cases at the national level?
The latest statistics show that, so far this year, 28 work casualties have been granted, out of a total of 43 applications, for occupational diseases caused by carcinogens, of which 17 have been caused by asbestos, also known Asbestos It was the supervisors in mining engineering, the laborers of the manufacturing industries, plumbers, truck drivers and assemblers of metal structures who initiated the different processes in 2018, according to AMAT data.
'Invisible' diseases
De las Morenas ensures that occupational diseases remain invisible against occupational accidents, given the immediacy of their effects. «Instead, occupational diseases are seen over time. They even accentuate and get worse over the years due to occupational exposure so there is a causal relationship, ”he says.
In 2018, the parties reported with medical leave totaled 11,382, the maximum figure since 2009 (9,691). This year does not seem to be the exception, since 2019 registers a continuous increase with an interannual variation until August of 13.29% with respect to the same period of the previous year.
As for the provinces with the highest records of sick leave, from January to August, due to occupational disease, Navarra has concentrated the largest number , with 141 cases per 100,000 inhabitants of working age. They are followed by: Guipuzcoa (87), Soria (75), La Rioja (74) and Murcia (70). Madrid stays in 16 cases per 100,000 potential workers.
Cleaning employees, most
With wristbands, knee pads and girdles. The cleaning workers are worth everything to avoid the injuries that the same movements repeatedly carry out during a workday. According to figures published by Labor, employees in this sector have obtained the highest number of medical leave for illnesses acquired in the profession, when compared to other occupations. Of a total of 8,753 medical leave granted from January to August 2019, 871 correspond to office cleaners, hotels, vehicles, windows, among others.
In 2018, cleaning employees also spearheaded applications for a temporary disability process due to occupational disease, according to the AMAT: 530 procedures.
Ángela Muñoz, from the Las Kellys floor maids association, is not surprised that the cleaning employees lead the figures and even far exceed the laborers of the manufacturing industry, fixed machinery operators and workers in the food industries , drinks and tobacco. " The origin of the problem comes from the precarious conditions to which we are subjected, " says Muñoz, who also emphasizes that it is an essentially feminine profession.
So far this year, a total of 804 cleaning workers agreed to leave work, well above the 67 men who achieved this medical condition. These data are related to the statistics of recent years: women are at the head of the ranking of work losses due to professional contingencies throughout Spain -from 3,631 in 2012 to 5,894 in 2018-.
Physical causes
If each of the elements that cause occupational diseases with medical leave are analyzed, the proportion is higher in those caused by physical agents - 84% of the total. Forced postures, muscular tensions ... So far this year, they have already been the cause of 4,302 casualties out of a total of 9,062 applications. This category is predominant because most jobs are framed in the service sector and in the manufacturing industry.
On the other hand, occupational diseases caused by inhalation of substances have represented, from January to August 2019, 6% of the total, followed by professional skin diseases caused by substances (4%), chemical agents (4%) , biological agents (1.6%) and by carcinogens (0.4%).
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