The TAMPM prison workers' union has denounced the "abandonment" suffered by workers at the Tahíche Penitentiary Center due to the lack of "personnel, material resources and training", as evidenced during the incident that occurred last week in which an inmate set fire to the mattress in his cell.
This "complicated" situation, as transmitted by the labor representation resource, has been increased due to the "neglect" suffered by workers in this and other similar resources, compared to "those who in theory should ensure their safety", such as the Ministry of the Interior.
Context
Last Tuesday, January 24, around 9:00 p.m., during the inmate count, staff observed that one of them presented a state compatible with drug intoxication.
While health care was being provided to the latter, one of the prisoners located in module 4 (where conflictive inmates and protagonists of regimental incidents reside) "taking advantage of the existing situation, in a totally voluntary manner", burned the mattress of his cell causing a fire of such magnitude that both the module in question and the contiguous one (resided by inmates of the same profile) were completely flooded with smoke, creating "a high risk" for the on-duty officials and the rest of the people.
Such was the danger to the lives of those present that both the Head of Services and the Director of the Penitentiary Center were forced to order the evacuation of the entirety of both modules to the corresponding patios, leaving in this way about 90 inmates in charge of 10 officials, until normality was established.
"Disregard and criminalization" of workers
Faced with this situation, TAMPM has thanked all the acting officials for the "professionalism and composure" with which they acted and has demanded that the competent bodies "put an end to the situation of precariousness and abandonment" experienced by prison workers, having to endure that their work is "disregarded and criminalized" daily.
