Employmentweb_low

EmploymEnT, woRk, and hEalTh inEqualiTiEs - a global perspective
number of workers were union members, in 2004 collective bargaining
agreements covered about 60 per cent of salaried workers (Eurofound,
2005). Traditionally, the main concerns of spanish trade unions have
been wages, earnings and employment issues. and, more recently,
working conditions, welfare policies and some occupational health
issues have been on their agenda. However, with few exceptions,
employment-related health inequalities have not been specifically
addressed by the spanish trade unions.
During the 80s and early 90s, a number of important macro-level
policies were implemented including the reform of the social security
system, an increase of public funds for social protection, the
implementation of more progressive taxation policies, and the
implementation of a national Health system, with almost universal
coverage and free access. Today, however, the degree of social
protection is still substantially lower than the Eu average (20.8% of the
gDp vs. 27.8% in the uE-15 and 27.4% in the uE-25 in 2005). While the
share of social protection devoted to unemployment, old age, and health
care and disability is relatively high, percentages are very low with regard
to family/children, housing and social exclusion. public funds for social
protection, the pensions paid by the social security system and the
benefits for illness and unemployment are the main lines of social
protection accounting for about 75 per cent of the total amount of social
expenditures. social security spending is half of the Eu average, and the
social protection system's coverage (16-64 years) has moved from 53.9
per cent in 1994 to 63.8 per cent in 2005.
The prevention of occupational Hazards act (1995) established a
modern and general framework on occupational health that
regulated the general obligations of employers, employees and the
manufacturers and suppliers of machinery and equipment with
regard to the prevention of risk, as well as the consultation and
participation rights of workers and employee representatives. This
law and its corresponding regulations led to the theoretically almost
universal legal protection of health at work and the integration of
prevention into the management structures of companies. The
implementation of this legislation, however, took place in a situation
where companies and the spanish government sought more flexible
forms of labour market organization. Thus, a deep-reaching reform
of labour legislation took place in 1994, followed by other successive
reforms seeking the amendment of many of the precepts of the
major labour laws (e.g., the Workers' statute, the labour procedure
act or the labour offenses and sanctions act), including the
adoption of a number of new laws such as an act on temporary
employment agencies, and the revision of regulations on
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