Yolanda Díaz suggests that the public company Tragsa failed to ensure the safety of the worker who died in Valencia

The tragic accident occurred shortly before midday, when two workers of the public company found themselves trapped when a pergola which connected two warehouses of the school collapsed.

The deceased is a 51-year-old worker, while another, 35, suffered minor leg injuries and abrasions to the head, for which he had to be transferred to La Fe Hospital in Valencia.

After learning of these events, the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, published a message on the social network State company of industrial participations (SEPI) who reports to the head of the Treasury, Vice President María Jesús Montero.

“What happened today in Massanassa is very serious“, wrote the leader of Sumar, “the emergency nature of all reconstruction works in Valencia cannot affect the rights, safety and health of workers.”

“Corresponds to professional duty“, added the Vice President of the Government, “the obligation to previously assess workplaces, adapt all necessary preventive measures and mandatory coordination tasks.”

Tragsa operators participated in the sludge removal, cleaning and conditioning tasks of the school, in collaboration with members of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), at the request of the Department of Education of the Generalitat Valenciana.

The public company Tragsa explained in a statement that “the event, as emerged from the first investigations, occurred following the collapse of an exterior metal structure which protected the passage between the buildings from the elements”.

“A group of Tragsa workers, as well as UME staff, were surprised this morning by its unpredictable collapse,” the statement added. Tragsa clarified that its deceased operator “wore protective equipment corresponding to the company’s professional risk prevention regulations.

For his part, after visiting the scene of the accident, the Minister of Education, Jose Antonio Roviraexplained that the school had been classified as “red” due to damage sustained during DANA, but no risk of collapse was detected.

“In no case was it classified as a center likely to collapse, and this is not the case,” explained Rovira in statements reported by Efe, “the accident simply occurred on a porch, perhaps due to damage to a pillar, and it fell.”

Already this Sunday, Vice President Yolanda Díaz ordered the Labor Inspectorate to investigate the facts. The Valencian Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Invassat) of the Generalitat will also do this, as with all workplace accidents occurring in the region.

Asked why Tragsa was carrying out work in this school, councilor José Antonio Rovira explained that “it was a health problem, that’s why they cleaned there, because it was full of mud Last Tuesday, the Director General of Infrastructure and. The idea is to set up this school in prefabricated classrooms“, given the bad state in which Lluís Vives finds himself after DANA.

Overall, Tragsa intervened in 68 schools in the provinceof which 44 are nursery and primary schools and 24 others are secondary schools, at the request of the Generalitat.

Rovira also emphasized that after DANA, his department has already analyzed the situation of 90 schools, including most of them are already open or will open in the coming days.

“In those that present damage that will take a long time to repair,” he added, “we will evaluate whether it is worth demolishing them or not, trying to find alternatives within the municipality and not to move the children.”