ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Associations between temporary employment and occupational injury: what are the mechanisms?

F G Benavides¹, J Benach¹, C Muntaner², G L Delclos³, N Catot¹ and M Amable¹

¹ Occupational Health Research Unit, Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain
² Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, Canada
³ Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, The University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr F G Benavides
Occupational Health Research Unit, Pompeu Fabra University, Carrer Doctor Aiguader 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; fernando.benavides{at}upf.edu

Objective: To determine whether observed higher risks of occupational injury among temporary workers are due to exposure to hazardous working conditions and/or to lack of job experience level.

Methods: Data systematically recorded for 2000 and 2001 by the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on fatal and non-fatal traumatic occupational injuries were examined by type of employment and type of accident, while adjusting for gender, age, occupation, and length of employment in the company. In the study period there were 1500 fatal and 1 806 532 non-fatal traumatic occupational injuries that occurred at the workplace. Incidence rates and rate ratios (RR) were estimated using Poisson regression models.

Results: Temporary workers showed a rate ratio of 2.94 for non-fatal occupational injuries (95% CI 2.40 to 3.61) and 2.54 for fatal occupational injuries (95% CI 1.88 to 3.42). When these associations were adjusted by gender, age, occupation, and especially length of employment, they loose statistic significance: 1.05 (95% CI 0.97 to 1.12) for non-fatal and 1.07 (95% CI 0.91 to 1.26) for fatal.

Conclusions: Lower job experience and knowledge of workplace hazards, measured by length of employment, is a possible mechanism to explain the consistent association between temporary workers and occupational injury. The role of working conditions associated with temporary jobs should be assessed more specifically.

Keywords: occupational injury; temporary workers; occupational health

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