Abstract
One of the key strategies in the process to modernize the European economy is the privatization of railway transport; separating infrastructure maintenance from transport management. Privatization has led to farreaching changes with respect to organizations, professional careers, and the very culture of railway work. The opinions held by those most closely involved in and affected by these changes can contribute to the analysis of occupational health and safety with a view to preventing failures that have occurred in previous railway privatization processes. In this article, we analyze the effects of this privatization model on the safety and health of railway workers as well as on the safety of passengers and freight.
Highlights
Una estrategia clave en el proceso de modernización de la economía europea es la liberalización del transporte ferroviario, separando el mantenimiento de las infraestructuras de la gestión del transporte
The railway transport sector is, in this sense, a peculiar case: it is characterized by strong work traditions and work culture, high levels of safety regarding the transportation of both passengers and freight, and safety and health conditions for employees
These changes have been implemented despite their adverse effects on the safety and health of railway workers, passengers and freight as witnessed in previous privatization processes such as those occurring in British rail transport (Cobos Artega & Martínez Vara, 2005)
Summary
Liberalización, Riesgos laborales, Salud, Seguridad, Transporte ferroviario. When analyzing current conditions of employment (Castillo, 2005) —and moving beyond the debate about new or old organizational models or the hybrid models adopted by companies depending on their particular environment (Gutiérrez, 1997)— we should not lose sight of the fact that we are immersed in a liberalization discourse that extends outwards to include all sectors of activity. In contrast to technological determinism or neo-liberal determinism veiled under privatization claims, we focus on the current working conditions in the sector, the prevention strategies that are being implemented, the expectations of workers and the risks they perceive, and how to deal with such issues at a time when railway transport in the European Union is to be deregulated. In this sense, we must bear in mind that “the social consequences of a specific productive organization are contained within the design itself, in its own origins” (Castillo, 2005b: 4), and that the origins of the “new” model of railway transport are currently being developed. The employees’ own working conditions, which are characterized by increasingly heavy workloads that must be carried out at a faster pace and higher intensity (in line with the general evolution of working conditions in the European Union according to the EFILWC, 2005); and workers’ training and their ability to deal with new and old occupational risks in the context of privatized railway transport
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