A total of 17 people died in the Canary Islands due to work accidents in 2024

Six of them did not die from trauma, but from a heart attack or stroke, which may point to excessive work rates and tight staffing, unions explain

April 25 2025 (18:37 WEST)
Workplace accidents
Workplace accidents

A total of 17 people died in the Canary Islands due to work accidents in 2024, a year in which 53,591 accidents occurred, of which 28,514 resulted in sick leave.

Although there has been a containment in the figures for occupational accidents compared to 2023, the number of fatal work accidents has not been reduced, 11 in the province of Las Palmas, 5 in that of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and another on the way to their workplace, representatives of UGT, CCOO and USO-CANARIAS detailed this Friday at a press conference.

The deceased worked, nine of them in construction, five in services and two in industry. In addition, six of the 17 deceased did not die from trauma but from a heart attack or stroke, which may point to excessive work rates and tight staffing.

For this reason, the unions have asked that mental health not be ignored and that this pathology be treated from the prevention of occupational risks.

Representatives of UGT, CCOO and USO-CANARIAS have analyzed the situation of workers in the Canary Islands in terms of occupational safety on the occasion of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

As they have highlighted, occupational health is not a luxury but a right and they have requested the involvement of employers in favor of occupational health.

In addition, they have added that, proportionally, accidents resulting in sick leave during the working day have decreased by 0.93% in the period from January to December 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

All economic sectors have decreased their accident rate except for the service sector, which has increased it.

These data, they have pointed out, do not include accidents or deaths that may have occurred in the underground economy.

The union representatives have agreed to demand that the Government of the Canary Islands prioritize safety and health conditions at work and increase the preventive culture, since the figures are "unacceptable and very worrying."

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