The Ministry of Labor proposes to create the role of “territorial prevention agent”, a person designated by unions and employers who will monitor professional risks in workplaces with fewer than ten employees. It is in these tiny companies, the power plants report, that the majority of workplace accidents are concentrated. Yolanda Díaz’s department proposes this change to the social agents in its proposal to reform the law on the prevention of occupational risks, a negotiation that has lasted for 21 months and which continued on Monday with a new meeting, from which the Ministry of Labor emerged by reproaching the CEOE for “warming the chair” and presenting him with an ultimatum: it asks the representatives of the companies to take a position by the end of November, to which the employers responded that they have already contributed ideas and report having suffered “lack of respect” and “threats”. From January to September, 547 people died at work, 5% less than last year, but with a significant increase in some sectors such as construction.
The Ministry also proposes a change to the regulation of prevention services, according to the reform project to which EL PAÍS has had access, which would imply greater attention to companies that commission this service to other companies, in the so-called third-party prevention services. The unions believe it is normal that these bodies, despite being specialized in the matter, are overloaded and poorly monitored. To correct the situation, the ministry proposes to create the figure of the “interlocutor” at the specialized company, an employee who must mediate with this service when the employer does not have the training or means to deal with it.
The proposal to create territorial prevention agents was transferred to social agents in September. As specified by the Ministry, these “will carry out specific prevention functions in companies or workplaces with fewer than ten workers who do not have legal representation”. That is, it would be a sort of strengthening of the Inspectorate to monitor companies without union representation and with fewer than ten employees.
These territorial agents will be designated in each autonomous community by mutual agreement by the trade unions and employers’ associations most representative of the sector in question. Among its functions is that of “collaborating with company management and workers to improve preventive action”; “monitoring exercise of compliance with prevention regulations”; or “carry out visits to workplaces to monitor the status of working conditions,” among others.
If this proposal from the Ministry were consolidated into legislation, it would expand a figure already applied in other autonomous communities, such as Asturias, Navarra or La Rioja, developed through agreements between regional governments, unions and employers in the region.
“The territorial prevention agents will act jointly. Their activity will be the subject of annual planning according to the criteria and objectives set by the organizations that designated them (unions and employers) in collaboration with the technical body on prevention of the autonomous community”, adds the Labor proposal.
Greater surveillance of external prevention services
The Ministry of Labor has already sent three reform projects to social agents: the first in March, the second in September, which introduced the figure of the territorial agent, and last week a third text. The main novelty of this new approach is the creation of the figure of “external prevention service interlocutors”, the companies to which many companies entrust these functions. This figure would be articulated in the prevention services legislation, where it will be specified (if the idea of Work thrives) that if the employer does not have the training to carry out this function “he must designate a person to take on the functions”.
These interlocutors must be company employees with “the qualifications and experience necessary to carry out their duties, as well as the corresponding preventive training”. Its functions include “advising the company on the content of the prior agreement”; “collaboration with the company in the interpretation and evaluation of the risk assessment process”; and “formulate proposals and information to the prevention service regarding those situations that may require the revision of the preventive activity”.
More attention to mental health
This new proposal from the Ministry also raises other innovations in terms of mental health: it concretizes the commitment to develop a specific regulation that addresses protection from psychosocial risks and introduces more content on this type of risks in the mandatory courses that prevention specialists must follow.
The March proposal has already introduced a fundamental change in this matter. While the law in force now says that “illnesses, conditions or injuries suffered as a result of or in connection with work will be considered as work-related harm”, the new Labor proposal extends this definition: “And which may affect the physical, physiological, cognitive, emotional, behavioral or social areas”.
The Labor approach, however, provides that the employer must establish its own prevention service when the company has more than 300 workers (compared to the current 500) and provides for group construction with an even greater requirement in this regard, which is claimed by 150 (previously 250). Monitoring of preventive actions among self-employed workers is also strengthened.
Other changes proposed by Labor focus on addressing the climate crisis, gender and age perspectives. It also underlines the right to digital disconnection and that the employer will be able to undertake prevention personally only with a staff of ten employees or less, instead of the current 25.
difficult agreement
It has been a long time since the ministry has been able to conclude a tripartite agreement, in which not only the unions but also the employers participate (the last one was in June 2024). All voices in the social dialogue underline the importance of changing this regulation with everyone’s support, but hopes for a consensus have faded in recent months. Be that as it may, the unions are rushing the Executive, given that almost two years have passed since the first negotiation meeting.
The Labor ultimatum makes the distance between each actor’s positions visible, which leads to another agreement of the ministry only with employee representatives. This makes it difficult for the reform of the prevention law to be carried forward in Congress, given the rejection of the parliamentary right (which has the majority in the Legislature) to social dialogue agreements that employers do not sign. That opposition ruined the bill on shortening the working day. Changing the regulation of preventive services has a better chance of thriving, as it does not have the force of law. Sources in the social dialogue underline that the Government can modify this text only with the approval of the Council of Ministers.
