- On the occasion of the International Day of Safety and Health at Work, the trade union majority held demonstrations in Bilbao and Pamplona to denounce that the occupational accidents continue to increase and that there is precariousness behind them. CCOO and UGT have also mobilised in Bilbao.
If preventive measures are not guaranteed, "thousands of workers will remain without sufficient support, especially those in a precarious situation", the trade unions ELA, LAB, ESK, STEILAS, Etxalde and Hiru explained at the demonstrations held this Thursday in Bilbao and Pamplona/Iruña. The mobilizations, organized within the framework of the International Day for Safety and Health at Work, include a floral offering to the deceased workers.
Last year, at least 68 people died in the workplace, according to trade union sources, who have noted that the number has increased "worrying": 10.2% more in the CAV and 16.7% more in the Comunidad Foral Navarra. So far this year, there are already 20 deaths.
The number of deaths in the accident rose "alarming" last year: 10.2% more in the CAV and 16.7% more in Navarra
On the other hand, they have denounced that deaths from occupational illness often become invisible, as they "are not recorded correctly". And they've also given a significant amount of data, because in that underreporting there are at least 17 people killed by asbestos.
The situation is even more vulnerable for women. Leire Heredia, of the Department of Safety and Health of ELA, explained at a conference held at the Alhóndiga in Bilbao that "the greater precariousness, partial days or poverty suffered by women influences their health".
"We want to focus on the origin of these accidents and diseases," he explained to Hamaika Telebista Igor Arroyo, deputy to the Secretary General of LAB. And the origin is the precariousness, the existence of a permanent violation of legislation on health and safety at work. The problem is that no action is taken by the institutions to respond to all this."
36,364 accidents with loss in CAV
CCOO and UGT have also mobilized this Thursday. CCOO members have concentrated in front of Confesbask's headquarters in Bilbao to denounce the "excessive outsourcing" of the plant.
For its part, UGT has expressed itself by recalling that safety and health are "a fundamental right" to health and safety. "At the moment we have the highest number of accidents with casualties in the last five years and we demand that the Basque Government implement a shock plan," said UGT-Euskadi Secretary General Raúl Arza. Other information provided is as follows: In 2021, there were 36,364 occupational accidents with sick leave in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.
In Ipar Euskal Herria, the unions have mobilized to protest the reform of the law. In San Juan de Luz, for example, members of FSU, CGT and LAB have concentrated in front of the crane company Lapix and have reminded the worker Mohamed Kechoui, who died on 9 March in Baiona, among others.
