The coordinating prosecutor for occupational accidents of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC), Ernesto Vieira, told La Voz digital that he would prefer more convictions against those who put safety at work at risk.
This Thursday in Lanzarote, Vieira spoke about the criminal responsibility of agents in the construction sector, invited by the Bar Association of the Island to the conference "The construction process and the responsibility of the agents involved in the construction".
Vieira warned about the low number of convictions, but also highlighted that few procedures reach the courts of Justice. Regarding this last aspect, he believes that more files should be opened because the majority of convictions "degrade, so to speak, into misdemeanors".
"It is an inferior criminal category that does not imply, therefore, as much punishment or as many consequences for the offender," explained the jurist. That is the main struggle of the Prosecutor's Office at this moment because it would also mean greater credibility in Justice.
Who is to blame?
The courts of Justice are responsible for applying the penalties, but the responsibility for the punishments not remaining mere misdemeanors depends on all the agents.
Thus, employers, workers, unions, labor inspectors, the same legal operators and all the people who in some way have to do with the labor process must ensure compliance with the law and be aware that they are playing with the lives of many people.
UGT requests a specialized prosecutor's office
UGT shares the view that the number of workplace accidents, some fatal, does not correspond to the convictions for non-compliance with the Occupational Risk Prevention Law.
Orlando Suárez, island secretary of UGT, stressed that precisely for this reason the union has been demanding at the state level the creation of a specific prosecutor's office to address the processes in the area of occupational risks.
"The current prosecutor's offices and labor inspections have not had the effect that was intended. Much progress must be made in the coordination of both institutions because in Spain we are at the head in the European Union regarding accidents," said Suárez.
UGT links the high number of accidents to the prevailing hiring model, the excessive turnover of personnel and in general to all the factors that together make up what is known as job insecurity.
Convictions
Ernesto Vieira explained that a person can be sentenced to three years in prison if they have committed a serious crime.
Although he admitted that subjectivity plays a big role, the prosecutor indicated that an action or omission that costs a worker's life in the performance of their work activity is considered a serious crime.
Unfortunately, the issue of workplace accidents is very topical. The total solution to the problem cannot be found exclusively in the application of criminal laws to offenders, therefore employers and workers have much to say. "I believe that in Spain we have not addressed this problem with sufficient rigor," noted the prosecutor of the TSJC.
