The Almeria Agriculture adopted on prevention of labour risks

The IV National Congress of Agroprevención alternating visits with technical presentations of vast theme about safety, accidents and prevention in the agricultural domain.

Experts from all Spain valued positively, prevention of occupational hazards of several Almeria agricultural enterprises, on the occasion of the IV National Congress of prevention of occupational risks in the agri-food Sector. An assessment that occurred after the visit to the storage Saniveg, greenhouse horticultural crops of Luis Andújar, and the central fruit and vegetable Vegacañada. There could, in situ, prevention measures relating to the storage and manipulation of intensive horticultural products such as fertilizers, plant protection and seeds that are carried out in Saniveg. Or the steps that follow in the greenhouse horticultural crops Luis Andújar, related systems of fumigation. In the latter case, the audience could know various methods of mechanized application of phytosanitary products that used this glass greenhouse, equipped with last generation facilities, already air-conditioned, automated, and with a system of hydroponic tomato production. The third and last of the scheduled visits was the central fruit and vegetable Vegacañada, where you could see the chain of manipulated and packaging of vegetables especially as regards health and ergonomic prevention that applies the company.

A series of conclusions and suggestions came to the fore of the celebration of the IV National Congress of prevention of occupational risks. On the one hand, it was suggested the study and implementation underway card for monitoring health and training for workers in agricultural campaigns. In this way, is intended to demonstrate mandatory medical examinations and training done, making them enforced in successive recruitment, saving cost, inconvenience and time, and simplify the recruitment of employees. On the other hand, the event cast a number of conclusions. In the first place, was considered fundamental development of outreach and information campaigns to achieve greater awareness and facilitate the creation of a real preventive culture. Secondly, it was proposed the development of specific training courses for the agricultural business, to the object that can assume the management of the prevention of occupational risks in your business. Thirdly, the sector reiterated its demand for the establishment of a specific legislation of safety and health in the agro-food area. In the case of the greenhouses, due to the high risk of accidents resulting from its construction and Assembly, should be considered building, so apply them the regulation established in Royal Decree 1627 / 1997.

The IV National Congress of Agroprevención also came to other conclusions. For example, he insisted on improving coordination between the different actors involved in the management and investigation of occupational accidents, and especially, the immediacy in the intervention of the Prosecutor's Office. Also became apparent that the accident rate in the agricultural sector is proportionally more elevated than the between the generality of the active population. In particular, with reference to the risks arising from the application of plant protection products, was shown that the existence of a detailed set of rules, dispersed and complex hinders the action inspector. Finally, he urged adequate knowledge of the functioning of agricultural activity, so make a better assessment of risks, with special and non-generic. For this reason, it was considered that the technicians of the agricultural sector with training in occupational risk prevention, and in particular agricultural technical engineers, were suitable professionals to improve working conditions and reduce accidents.

King Juan Carlos I became President of honour of the IV National Congress of prevention of occupational risks in the agri-food Sector to be held in Almería from 17 to 19 November. The official act of inauguration, the past day 18, attended by personalities as the Secretary general of Rural Environment of the Ministry of environment and Rural Environment and marine (MARM), Eduardo Tamarit Pradas. The event was organized by the General Council of official colleges of technical agricultural engineers of Spain (CGCOITAE) through the IDEA Foundation / Ángel García-Fogeda Prado and the Ministry of environment and account with the collaboration of the official College of technical agricultural engineers of Almeríathe Employment Department of the Board of Andalusia and the University of Almería.

More technical conferences, in the Hall of classroom grades IV of the UAL, which involved specialists such as José Luis Ponce de León, director of the station of agricultural mechanics of the MARMwere held during the first day, the past day 17,, which dealt with the current situation of the safety of tractors and other agricultural machines or Antonio Morente Sánchez, head of the security service and training of the Institute of security and occupational health of the region of Murcia, whose presentation focused on the prevention of occupational hazards in greenhouses. C. Richard Glass, the Food and Environmental Research Agency, York, United Kingdom and Francisco Javier Egea González, of the Centre for research in agro-food biotechnology of the UAL also participated. Both participated in the paper ' the prevention of risks in the management of phytosanitary products as an indicator of sustainable agriculture. The meeting included other interventions on 'Ergonomic applications', in charge of Angel Jesus alley Ferre and José Pérez Alonso, in the Department of Rural engineering of the UAL and the 'action guide for inspection of the agro-forestal sector' in the Almeria agriculture, from the hand of Maria Filomena Teixeira, of the Instituto para a Segurança, hygiene e saúde no Trabalho of Portugal, among others.

In the afternoon, took place a round table in which CC OO, Asaja, Upa, COAG and UGT trade union representatives, moderated by José Yanes Coloma, head of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Commission of safety and health at workThey discussed the importance of the joint action of the agents involved in the prevention of occupational hazards, as well as a Conference on 'Biological hazards in the handling of animals on farms', by Sebastian Gonzalez Moles, technical director of the prevention service, Alseprem.

The Auditorium of the UAL hosted a day after the official opening. It was, in the same place, where he held a set of papers, among which were those of Juan Manuel Oña Navarro, workplace accidents of the General Prosecutor's Office of the State Prosecutor of Sala Coordinator, who explained the actions of the Prosecutor's Office in accidents at work in the food sector. For its part, Pedro Delgado Cobos, director of the Department of working conditions in agriculture and fisheries of the National Center for media protection Seville, unveiled the 'European guide on protection of workers in the agricultural sector'. Other interventions, throughout the day, were: 'National Plan of training in prevention of occupational risks', the hand of José Luis Castellá López, director of the Department of technical assistance and standards, INSHT; ' The coordination of health and safety of technical agricultural engineers: content and problems of its field of activity ', by Alberto Paramio, inspector of labour and Social security of the Ministry of labour and immigration, to name a few. Throughout the day, participants were able to visit an exhibition of posters and a selection of photographs of the competition organized within the framework of the Congress, in the Hall of classroom grades IV of the UAL.

Following the visits of the past 19 days, were to close, officially, the IV National Congress of prevention of occupational risks in the agri-food Sector. Parallel to the Congress, during the weekend, the eighty-third ordinary plenary of the General Council of official colleges of technical agricultural engineers of Spain in which representatives of all schools officers of ITES of Spain was held in Almería.

The first edition of the National Congress of prevention of occupational risks in the food sector put on the table that accidents in the country with the largest, under construction. An accident rate which is, basically, to the special characteristics of this activity: variety of tasks, environmental conditions, the use of powerful and sophisticated machinery great use of chemicals, temporality of workers with limited training and information, compounded with the incorporation of migrant labour and seasonality of the work. In the field there is a high number of fatalities in this sector, although not reflected in the statistics for not picking up the accidents of self-employed workers and family members working in the farm. "Very often these accidents are caused by overturning tractor, fall from height, to name a few." "Equally, must be taken into account numerous serious accidents that occur due to the use of chainsaws, atrapamientos by the axis of transmission of force of the tractor and other farm machines, for example", assured Emilio Viejo, President of the Foundation IDEA / Ángel García-Fogeda Prado.