The agricultural sector has the highest level of accidents among foreign workers

Agriculture is the sector which has the highest rate of serious accidents compared to other sectors, as its fatal accident rate is 60%, much higher than other areas. That is one of the main conclusions of a study published in open access and carried out by researchers at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) which compared the severity of accidents between foreigners and Spaniards working in the agricultural sector.

Based on the data collected, the study, which has recently been published in the Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research (SJAR), proposes measures and plans to improve the sector in terms of reducing accident rates. "The aim is to achieve real equality between immigrants and Spaniards, as there should be no difference between the two groups", argued Natalia Cuguero and Xavier Baraza, researchers in the UOC's Faculty of Economics and Business and the authors of the study.

The agricultural sector - the sector with the highest rate of serious accidents

After studying around 160,000 accidents which took place between 2013 and 2018, the authors point out that foreign workers in the agricultural sector have higher accident rates. This rate is even higher taking into account that a significant proportion of the accidents are not even reported. 

Estimates suggest that the agricultural sector has the highest rate of serious accidents, and is ranked third in terms of the number of accidents. Specific issues affecting work in agriculture are high levels of immigration, unstable working conditions and high levels of potential risks that are due to the nature of the work. Agriculture is also a sector with a higher proportion of immigrant workers compared to the total, and their position tends to be more precarious, as they are usually less well informed and educated. 

"Estimates suggest that fewer accidents are reported in the agricultural sector than in other sectors, which reduces our knowledge of the real accident rate. This leads to a vicious circle, since it further reinforces underreporting and therefore leads to less consideration being given to measures for improvement", said Baraza, of the DigiBiz (Digital Business Research Group) at the UOC.

This high accident rate and the serious nature of the accidents are mainly due to factors such as the use of all types of machinery - both heavy and light -, the use of dangerous materials and the limited training received by a very significant proportion of the employees. "However, the worker's overconfidence in their own abilities and their underestimation of the risks involved are also the cause of many accidents", emphasized Cugueró, of the SUMAT (Sustainability, Management and Transport Research Group) at the UOC. It is important to note that working conditions are often not the same for Spanish and foreign workers, the experts pointed out.

According to the data studied, the majority of occupational accidents in the primary sector take place in Andalusia, Valencia, Extremadura and Murcia, regions where the agricultural sector is more important. However, in the vast majority of Spain's autonomous regions, immigrants are absent for fewer days, despite representing the majority of workers. "This shows that immigrants are less likely to report accidents", Cugueró pointed out. For example, during the period studied, 14,000 accidents were recorded in Extremadura, of which immigrants only accounted for 640, and there were almost 55,000 incidents in Andalusia, with only 9,000 accidents involving foreigners.

Solutions to the high accident rate

The experts call for the establishment of government policies and measures for companies which place working conditions on an equal footing for immigrants and Spaniards. "In general, we're calling for greater awareness-raising aimed at this group of immigrant workers in particular, as this is a situation in which there's a lack of social justice", said Baraza. 

The most effective strategies for reducing the accident rate include enhancing continuous training throughout the worker's working life, especially for older and more experienced employees, and explaining employment rights to all workers. This would ensure equal access to occupational health for both groups. "Implementing these strategies is an imperative issue of social justice that all workers in the primary sector deserve", the UOC experts argued. 

Other in-depth studies are also currently being carried out on other variables such as age and experience, as well as on the assessment of risks associated with work and the workers' ability to value their own skills in the workplace. For this group of workers, these studies focus on their working conditions to prevent the added factor of job insecurity from affecting them.

However, it is necessary to conduct more specific studies of particular accidents, improve the reporting of data and raise awareness among the people working in this sector about the high level of job insecurity in both large and small companies. "Specific plans must be implemented to improve these workers' circumstances, and thereby improve the sector and increase workplace inspections, which are crucial aspects for reducing accidents", concluded the experts. 

This UOC research supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3, Good Health and Well-being; 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and 10, Reduced Inequalities.

Reference

Baraza X., & Cugueró Escofet N. (2022). Immigration and occupational accidents: A comparative study of accident severity among foreign and Spanish citizens in the agricultural sector. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 20 (3), e0105. https://doi.org/10.5424/sjar/2022203-18792

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