The First Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court has refused to admit for processing an appeal filed by the Government of the Canary Islands against a ruling that condemned the Canary Islands Health Service for not providing information to the Independent Trade Union and Civil Servants (CSIF) on "personnel policy" in the Lanzarote Health Area. Thus, the high court has upheld the ruling, also condemning the regional Executive to pay the costs in favor of the appealed party "up to a maximum of 1,000 euros".
"We have finally had justice when suing the Management of the Lanzarote Health Area for denying such a fundamental constitutional right as the right to information", said CSIF Sanidad Lanzarote, from where they have made public the resolution of the Supreme Court.
In a statement, the union states that it initiated "this battle against the attitude shown" towards its organization by "the manager" of the Lanzarote Health Area and details that what they were requesting was "information demanding transparency on issues as sensitive for the staff as hiring matters, trying to control the management of human resources" or "specifically necessary information on issues that involved" their "members or workers in labor matters".
"Well, the attitude of the manager was always negative, poorly advised by his legal services, not giving us answers to the issues that, as we mentioned earlier, generating a lack of transparency on the part of the public administration, in addition to violating a right such as the right to information", CSIF states, from where they also point out that "by not having an answer" to their writings, "numerous workers were harmed, not being able to manage and solve their problems". "Since the information we requested from the Management was not granted to us in order to offer our help to these colleagues", they specify.
Different court rulings have proved them right
Faced with "this attitude on the part of the Management in the 21st century", the union points out that it did not hesitate "one iota" in putting the matter in the hands of its legal services, "which sued the Management and the Canary Islands Health Service", recalling the different court rulings that have been proving them right and expressing their "surprise" that the Government of the Canary Islands has appealed them "with the intention of prolonging this denial of information over time".
And, as La Voz already reported, both the Contentious-Administrative Court number 4 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Second Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands had already ruled in favor of the union. However, the regional Executive filed a final appeal before the Supreme Court and "that is where they are stopped in their tracks", not admitting it and imposing the payment of costs in favor of the appealed party "up to a maximum of 1,000 euros".
"Because it has not been sufficiently substantiated that there are, with particular reference to the case, any or some of the assumptions that allow us to appreciate the objective cassational interest and the convenience of a pronouncement by the chamber", the high court points out in a provision dated May 23.
"This entire judicial process has only generated harm to the workers"
"We cannot believe that a public administration and a person in charge of an institution such as the Lanzarote Health Area take such attitudes, appealing against a trade union organization where all we were asking for was simply information, generating waiting time for our workers, in addition to unnecessary costs that will not have to be paid out of their own pockets, but will be paid by all the taxpayers of the Canary Islands Health Service", CSIF states, from where they consider that this entire judicial process "has only generated harm" to the workers, in addition to "a bad image" as public officials of the health administration "to the current Management of Lanzarote and its legal services", for "not wanting" to give them information".
"We hope that in these times we will not have to set foot in a court again to sue a public administration for denying such fundamental rights as the right to information and transparency", adds the union, which concludes by pointing out that it "will always be on the side of the worker".
