Since 2019, cases of long-term sick leave of 365 days or more in the Balearics have increased by almost one thousand - from 3,284 to 4,223.
Marga Jiménez, the CCOO union's occupational health coordinator, attributes this increase to companies' failure to comply with occupational risk protocols. She is also critical of the government for not having reinforced the employment inspectorate over the summer; the last government did this by bringing additional inspectors from the mainland.
"The prevention of occupational risks has become a mere administrative procedure without taking into account what is really important - the health of workers and the risks to which they are exposed. The workload is very high in many cases, as is the pressure that many of them suffer."
The government's secretary for work and employment, Catalina Cabrer, denies this. Reinforcement was not requested because irregularities with employment contracts - the principal reason for more inspectors - have been largely eradicated. It was not primarily for occupational health or risk prevention purposes. Cabrer points to a decrease in accidents when comparing data from January to August 2023 and for the same eight months of 2024.
Jiménez says that mental health problems are a major cause of long-term sick leave. "In recent years there has been a significant increase in psychosocial risks and it is due to companies' inaction. The vast majority of employers do not carry out psychosocial assessments. They are largely ignored, despite being mandatory."
Hospitality is one of the sectors most affected by long-term sick leave, and Jiménez points out that there are more and more young people with mental health problems that lead to long-term sick leave. "They don't have the resources or training to cope with the pressures that their work can cause them. If companies applied occupational risk prevention policies, they would not get so sick; this has been proven."