The STEC-IC union demands the resignation of the Minister of Education, Hipólito Suárez, and the Director General of Infrastructure and Equipment, Iván González Carro, in the face of a situation they consider "incompatible with the safety, health, and dignity that must be guaranteed in educational centers". It has also approached the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate to investigate the compliance with preventive obligations by the Administration in the face of high temperatures.
The competent authority will determine the possible legal responsibilities. But the political responsibilities are demanded by STEC-IC.
"Four years are enough," highlights the union, which adds that it has been denouncing the state of educational infrastructure in the Canary Islands for years. "We are no longer talking about an isolated incident, an exceptional heatwave, or a specific center," it continues.
"We are talking about leaks, dampness, unusable classrooms, obsolete electrical installations, cracked walls, asbestos, temporary classrooms, inoperative fire safety systems, lack of shaded areas, centers not adapted to high temperatures, and works that interfere with teaching activities," they point out. "And we are talking, above all, about people."
Attending class without deficiencies
The union points out that students have the right to attend class without the deficiencies of their center compromising their safety, health, or well-being. Thus, it insists that students with greater support needs "cannot be condemned to study in deficient facilities." While workers "have the right to carry out their activity in safe and healthy conditions."
STEC-IC recalls that it has already publicly denounced that certain educational infrastructures present "conditions that put the physical integrity of teachers and students at risk." It also denounced emergency situations in several Special Education Centers, with temporary classrooms, pipes with asbestos, cracked walls, and inoperative fire safety systems. "And, as if it were the norm, leaks, dampness, dust, unusable classrooms, and, recently, heat," it adds.
"We have been hearing about protocols, plans, and future actions for years while thousands of teachers and students continue to be exposed to temperatures that can cause dizziness, dehydration, and heatstroke," the statement insists.
The answer is again what should be an exceptional measure: reduce activity, suspend in-person attendance, and send students and teachers home.
"Closing a school does not air-condition a classroom, a protocol does not eliminate asbestos, a plan does not fix a leak, an announcement does not repair an electrical installation, and sending students home does not replace prevention," the union highlights.
Blaming "what was inherited eternally"
After four years, the union concludes that the Government of the Canary Islands cannot hide behind "permanently blaming what was inherited," nor can it present a new protocol every time reality shows that the previous one is not enough. "Whoever assumes the management of educational infrastructures also assumes the responsibility to plan, prevent, execute, and be accountable," it states.
"Four years is more than enough time to politically judge the results of that management," they add. In this regard, the union considers "the time granted to those who have the political responsibility to solve them to be exhausted." "We are not going to wait for something serious to happen to demand what should have been guaranteed before: prevention, safety, and dignified educational infrastructures."
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