It has been 52 years since Law 19,587 on Hygiene and Safety at Work in Argentina came into force, approved on April 21, 1972, a fundamental rule in the prevention of accidents in the workplace. Remembering this date, the National Day of Hygiene and Safety at Work is celebrated every year. Meanwhile, yesterday the World Day for Safety and Health at Work was also commemorated.
The objective of this standard is to establish better conditions for workers, safeguarding health and safety, protection of life and psychophysical integrity. And since its implementation, accident rates have progressively decreased. This was confirmed to ONE Ayelén Herrera, graduate in Occupational Safety and Health, current president of the College of Graduates and Technicians of Hygiene, Safety and Occupational Health of Entre, an entity that was created in December 2022 thanks to the professionals achieving a law that regulates the activity, and whose board of directors began to function fully at the beginning of this year, with about 300 enrolled. “From 1972 until now, working conditions have obviously improved a lot. This law indicates that for each certain number of workers, there must be a technical professional inserted in the company, as part of the team, or a graduate who is in charge of the Hygiene and Safety service. That is, it is a mandatory service,” she explained.
When asked if this requirement is met, he observed: “More and more companies already have service and technicians working permanently. And I think that when it doesn’t happen it is due to lack of knowledge. This is regulated by the Ministry of Labor, which in turn is regulated by the Superintendence of Occupational Risk, and when they go out to do the tours and verify that the premises have their papers in order, that is where it is only detected if they have or not Hygiene and Safety service. And there are many businessmen, many SMEs, who are obviously not aware of all the laws and they find out as the time comes.
Prevention is key
According to data from the Superintendence of Occupational Risks (SRT), last year in Entre Ríos there were 13,879 reported cases of accidents with days of sick leave, which included 11 deaths. In this sense, there was an increase compared to 2022, when there were 13,513 work accidents with staff absenteeism, and six deaths.
In both 2022 and 2023, the majority of injuries occurred from footsteps, collisions or being struck by objects; In second place are falls, and in third place are excessive efforts.
The figures cover registered personnel, but it is estimated that they increase if the informal sector, which does not have ART, is considered. “Together with the Ministry of Labor, we are increasingly working with companies that understand that having their staff blank is important. Obviously the worker in white has ART, the one in black does not,” Herrera said.
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The specialist emphasized this point and stressed: “On the coast of Uruguay we have everything that is the forestry sector as a challenge, and in general in the province that of construction, due to the issue of the scope that the State has to control the black work, to control the masses. So it is a joint work of constant dissemination that we have from the College, in contacting the organizations, going out to look for links and strategic alliances to be able to reach all these people.”
Investment
In this sense, he specified: “One of the College’s tasks is to promote this message that security is an investment, not an expense, as is often seen. Prevention is key, which is what technicians and graduates in Occupational Safety and Health do, since the incidence of sick leave and absenteeism due to accidents and illnesses at work is usually high in companies that do not invest in safety, in prevention. And they end up spending more on paying for the accident and the indirect costs that an accident generates than on having a service that is responsible for talking to people, training them, teaching them about the risks of the activity, so that they can then take preventive measures and avoid the risks. accidents directly. What we do is work on the cause,” he concluded.
