Relevance of nationality for the analysis of the accident rate in the Spanish construction industry

Abstract

The growing number of immigrant workers in the construction sector has become a distinctive feature of the labour market in this industry throughout the world, and the immigrant workforce is largely necessary for the subsistence of production in the construction sector. This study seeks to identify the nationalities with the highest prevalence of accidents in the construction sector in Spain. This is based on the analysis of 690,767 occupational accidents that occurred in the construction sector in Spain between 2013 and 2022. The results show an unequal distribution in the severity of occupational accidents in construction according to the nationality of the workers, with accidents in workers from countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Portugal and Poland being over-represented. The findings obtained in this study reflect the need to develop specific occupational health and safety strategies that address the particular needs of each migrant group