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Guest column
By: Juan Carlos Sáez de Rus
Head of the Department – Corporate Department for
Safety, Health, and Wellbeing at the Workplace
Caring for workers’ health
A historic vision
Even when the loss of health is associated
with work activity, in the ancient and me-
dieval world, since work was carried out by
slaves and servants, no attention was paid
except for regulating certain measures for
their care. 1
With the start of the modern age and the in-
troduction of an economy based on money
in Europe, practical arts and mechanical
jobs became increasingly more and more
appreciated. 2
Industrialisation not only brought new risks
at the workplace, but also, the new types of
jobs and the discipline in factories increa-
sed these risks. The meagre legal interven-
tions in labour relations were limited to pro-
tecting the work of the “weaker classes”,
that is, women and children. 3
The workers’ struggle was crucial for achie-
ving improvements in working conditions
and safety. 4
Recopilación de Leyes de los
Reynos de las Indias was
a compilation of the laws
promulgated by Spanish
monarchs to govern their
possessions in America and the
Philippines (Indies). It was
prepared by Antonio de León
Pinelo and Juan de Solórzano
Pereira and approved by Charles
II of Spain (1665-1700) in Madrid
on 18 May 1680.