Safety and Health at Work Vol. 13 Supplement 2022
Occupational health for migrant workers in Spain, why does it matter?

Safety and Health at Work Vol. 13 Supplement 2022
Occupational health for migrant workers in Spain, why does it matter?

Occupational health, migrant workers,Spain

Spain is the fourth country with the largest number of immigrants in Europe, resulting in a large proportion of migrant workers. Women constitute 48% of international migrants who suffer poor working conditions linked to the positions they mainly occupy within certain fields such as the domestic sector and caregiving services. In this connection, Spain is the second country in Europe with the highest number of domestic workers (619,600 people). In addition, 95% of caregivers in Spain are Latin American women. It also should be noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, women have been the most affected, making up 54.8% of the total infected. They have been frequently working under unsafe and hazardous OHS conditions, often without the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and many being exposed to significant risks due to their direct personal contact with patients with COVID-19. To date, many researchers have examined the working conditions of immigrants in Spain who are known to have to deal with adverse working conditions. The main objective of this research is to investigate the patterns of work and working conditions of immigrants living in Spain and to understand how these factors may
affect their health. Many of our results have showed: In general, four employment sectors were most commonly occupied by these immigrants, including caregiving and food service for women and agriculture and construction for men. Most immigrants were from Latin America, either unemployed or working part-time jobs, and not hired under an employment contract. Most worked in low-qualified jobs, and were exposed to occupational hazards such as falls from heights, manual handling of materials, and psychological strain. The lack of training on occupational risk prevention and labour rights were related to a low identification of work- related situations leading to a negative impact on the health of immigrants. In caregiving sector (mainly occupied by women) the main risks identified were biological risks, physical attacks, falls, wounds and musculoskeletal complaints related to handling patients and carrying out household chores. Most of them had not taken an occupational health test and did not report accidents occurring in the
workplace for fear of losing their jobs. The main health problems were related to physical and mental health (such as musculoskeletal diseases and stress). During the current COVID 19 pandemic, women have been the main providers of care and domestic work in the homes where they
have been confined, renouncing their own freedom of movement and social interaction. They have been responsible of all the domestic work, resulting in non-stop working days during the lock-down.

Rocío de Diego-Cordero

Elsevier Korea LLC

January 2022

Sri Wahyuni

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Safety and Health at Work Vol. 13 Supplement 2022