In a statement to Maspalomas24H, the Union of Workers of the Administration of Justice (STAJ) denounced the precarious working conditions faced by employees at the courts in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Gran Canaria. The complaint comes amid a heat wave on the islands, where temperatures inside these court buildings have far exceeded legal limits.
According to the STAJ, measurements taken at the workplaces in these courts have recorded temperatures of between 31 and 32 degrees, well above the 27 degrees established as a maximum by Royal Decree 486/1997 on occupational health and safety. The union emphasizes that this situation is not new, but rather a recurring problem that has been ongoing for years and to which neither the current nor previous governments have been able to find a solution.
Lack of maintenance and the deterioration of air conditioning systems have been identified as the main cause of these conditions, which endanger workers' health and violate the Canary Islands Government's obligation as employers to ensure adequate thermal comfort.
The union has recalled that Law 31/1995 on the Prevention of Occupational Risks imposes on the Canary Islands Government the duty to protect the health of its workers. With the maximum alert for extreme temperatures activated in the archipelago, the STAJ denounces that the necessary preventive measures are not being taken to protect staff, who are forced to work in unsustainable conditions, with the consequent risk to their health.
