Malaga province workplace accidents claims 18 lives so far this year

The protesters expressed their condolences to the victim's family and colleagues, while trade union leaders warned of the complete failure of current safety measures and the spiralling rise in workplace accidents.

So far this year, there have been 18 fatal workplace accidents in Malaga province. Of all the victims, 14 died while on the job, while a further four died during their commute.

The total number of accidents during working hours in the province up to July exceeds 10,000, while more than 2,000 happened 'in itinere', according to the Ministry of Labour's statistics.

Occupational health secretary at Comisiones Obreras in Malaga Juan Francisco Girona criticised the lack of preventive measures. He pointed out that if the necessary safety measures are not in place during the construction of a wall, this shows that it was the rush to complete the work that prevented them from being properly implemented.

"We need new work rhythms," he stated. Comisiones Obreras called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the accident and for a change in Andalucía's approach to prevention.

"Prevention cannot be limited to taking action only after a tragedy has occurred," Girona said.

The trade union called for a structural shift to ensure collective awareness across all sectors. Girona stated that "all training on occupational health should start from the education system right down to the smallest village", extending information campaigns to local associations and adult education centres.

Finally, CCOO urged the authorities and the business community to tackle these systematic workplace accidents at source. "We need to ensure that information and training reach every corner so that this does not happen again," Girona stated.

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