An overview of the content of collective bargaining agreements regarding workers’ health surveillance

Abstract

Based on the principle set out in Article 43(1) of the Spanish Constitution, which recognises the “right to health protection”, and Article 14 of Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June, which establishes the guarantee of adequate health surveillance for workers in relation to risks to their safety and health at work, the Occupational Risk Prevention Act recognises the worker’s right to effective protection in matters of safety and health at work, including in this field the right to health surveillance, established and regulated in Article 22 as an instrumental duty of the employer towards those who provide services for them, and which consists of detecting the effects that the risks inherent in their work may have on the worker, manifesting themselves through an alteration in their health, whether physical or mental.

This provision has led to the development of a comprehensive and complex system of health surveillance, underpinned by numerous and varied principles and issues of clear interest, both in theory and in practice, among which it is worth highlighting the significant implications of whether such surveillance is voluntary or mandatory, the necessary consent, or respect for privacy, personal dignity and the confidentiality of health data obtained in the context of medical examinations carried out on workers.

The treatment of these issues in the context of collective bargaining varies considerably. Conventional analysis paints a picture in which one can point to such opposing extremes as a simple reference to statutory provisions or direct non-compliance with them, a complete lack of provision in this regard, or highly detailed regulation of the matter.