Work safety in the context of temporary employment: The Spanish experience

A rise in work injuries in Spain that has coincided with increased employment flexibility has fired debate among unions, employers, and policy-makers. This paper examines the relationships among temporary work, working conditions, and the likelihood of work accidents and illnesses. An analysis of employee-level and establishment-level data from a 1997 survey conducted by the Spanish Department of Labor suggests that, consistent with a claim made by unions, the single most important determinant of the likelihood of work-related injury and illness is working conditions, not education or tenure. As a result, although temporary workers exhibit higher work injury and illness rates than permanent workers, they exhibit a lower likelihood of work injury and illness than permanent workers once the analysis controls for a given set of working conditions.