Workplace deaths at their highest level in the last 14 years

BarcelonaLast year, 109 workers died in work-related accidents in Catalonia, a 22.5% increase compared to the previous year. Data from the Observatory of Labor and the Production Model sheds light on the trend of workplace accidents in 2025, a year in which the number of victims reached its highest level in the last 14 years. One has to go back to 2011, when 113 people died, to find a higher figure.

Although the total number of workplace accidents has remained fairly stable—with a decrease of 0.38%—the number of lives lost to this scourge has increased. Fatalities in accidents during the workday rose particularly sharply (85, a 26.8% increase compared to last year and the highest figure since 2009), but accidents also increased. in itinere (24, a 9% increase), occurring during commutes to or from work.

Of the 115,852 accidents resulting in sick leave recorded in 2025, the vast majority were minor. Even so, there were also 765 accidents in which workers were seriously injured, 20 fewer than the previous year. Regarding the causes of fatal accidents, the most frequent were traumatic, a category that includes pathologies caused by an external action, such as falls from heights, electrical contact, or collisions with objects. In contrast, 46 people died from non-traumatic causes such as heart attacks or strokes. According to the unions, traumatic accidents are also the easiest to prevent when occupational risk prevention measures are correctly applied to avoid the worst-case scenario: death. "We should have overcome these kinds of cases. And, although there are mechanisms to mitigate them, they continue to kill people," laments Mónica Pérez, head of occupational health at CCOO in Catalonia. Although the service sector accounted for the highest number of accidents in absolute terms, 67% of the total, the incidence of workplace fatalities was much higher in construction, with 10 victims per 10,000 members. In both this sector (+140%) and industry (+60%), fatal accidents increased significantly last year, while in the service sector the figure remained stable (43 people).

Furthermore, the 109 fatalities recorded in the 2025 statistics are unlikely to be the final figure. The Observatory of Labor and the Production Model also incorporates the 12-month severity indicator—calculated from the International Labour Organization's (ILO) definition of a work-related accident and used by Eurostat—which includes deaths occurring within one year of the accident. Therefore, it is possible that an incident initially classified as serious may later be confirmed as fatal when the worker's death is reported. With this estimate, the death toll rises to 125.

"If the appropriate preventative measures were applied, many of these deaths could be avoided. That is why we demand more urgent and decisive measures. More inspections are needed, and exemplary sanctions must be imposed on companies where Solaz employees die. The union has repeatedly denounced the fact that companies where fatal accidents have occurred can benefit from..." discounts on fines for prompt payment.

Urgent measures

Given the urgency of this problem, the Department of Business and Labor, headed by Minister Miquel Sàmper, has for months made workplace accidents one of its priorities for this legislative term. It's worth remembering that Catalonia does not have full authority in matters of occupational risk prevention, as the legislation—a 1995 law awaiting update—and the framework of obligations for companies are established by the central government. However, the Catalan government does have the authority to implement awareness campaigns and specific action plans, and it has its own corps of labor inspectors to ensure compliance with the regulations. In May 2025, the Catalan government announced a comprehensive plan to combat workplace accidents, with some measures already being implemented last year. Most notably, a specific campaign of site visits to construction projects, primarily to monitor falls from heights, was launched in November. Sources from the Department of Business and Labor explained to ARA that 53 construction sites were inspected (some type of risk was found in all of them) and that 200 more visits will be carried out this year. For this specific mission, the Catalan government has a team of only four technicians from the Catalan Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, one for each province. Another aspect of the plan focuses on actions targeting companies with an above-average accident rate, also heavily concentrated in the construction and industrial sectors. Last year, 173 companies were visited, and they will receive guidance on how to reduce this high incidence. In addition, the government has launched another campaign on ergonomic risks—in 2025 it focused on the retail sector, and this year it will focus on nursing homes—and has created a working group with social partners on the effects of heat in the workplace, which is finalizing a protocol for action. in the wake of the recent deaths related to high temperaturesHowever, the most ambitious measure in this emergency plan remains stalled due to the opposition of Foment del Treball (the Catalan employers' association). Minister Sàmper proposed the creation of a body of territorial prevention delegates—comprised of pairs of union and employer representatives—to inspect Catalan SMEs, where this workplace risk monitoring is currently lacking. However, employers oppose this measure, considering it excessive control over companies. In contrast, both the UGT and CCOO unions argue that only with more inspections and effective oversight of external prevention services can real change be achieved in the medium and long term.