Spanish economic model of the last 30 years, with high rates of growth and job creation, is based on exploitation of the youngest workers, researchers say.

The Spanish economic model of the last 30 years, with high rates of growth and job creation, is based on exploitation of the youngest workers, researchers say.

Study author Pablo Lopez Calle of the University of Madrid and colleagues analyzed the impact of the labor reforms of the past 30 years and the living conditions of younger generations. In addition to analyzing the data, the researchers conducted 30 case studies of young people from Madrid with "sociologically significant" profiles.

The first major labor reform, in 1984, introduced "external flexibility" into the labor market -- or temporary contracts and relaxing rules on firing employees -- the study says.

The second reform, in 1994, focused on the "internal flexibilization" of human resources, with individuals negotiating salaries and working conditions, as well as the commissions-based part of the salary.

The rate of accidents at work -- one of the social indicators most commonly used to measure the evolution of work intensity -- has not only risen during the past 15 years, but has also been concentrated in companies with fewer than 50 employees -- and has particularly affected young workers who have been in their job for less than a year and are on temporary contracts, Lopez Calle says.

Today, a worker age 25 and under is four times more likely than an older worker to suffer an accident, the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work said.

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