"It cannot be more expensive to lose a memory stick than the life of a worker": UGT demands tougher fines for workplace accidents

BarcelonaDuring 2025, 125 people lost their lives at their workplace in Catalonia, according to data collected by the UGT of Catalonia. This figure represents an increase of 15.74% compared to the previous year, when 108 fatal workplace accidents were registered in the country. For this reason, the union has demanded that sanctions for workplace accidents be toughened and has stated that they should be "equated" to those already applied when the data protection law is violated: "It cannot be more expensive to lose a memory stick than the life of a worker," assured the national secretary of the UGT of Catalonia, Reyes Solaz. Thus, she pointed out that it is "not normal" for companies to spend "a lot of money" on safety programs while "skimping" on prevention tools.

Amidst the debate on work absenteeism, the union has stated that the focus cannot fall on the workers, and has demanded more risk prevention measures in companies. "While some fill their mouths talking about absenteeism, the reality is that work continues to sicken and kill workers," assured Solaz, who added that "sick leaves are not the problem, they are the consequence." In this same vein, the UGT has also called for the creation of a sanitary labor inspection that is a "real tool" for supervising prevention policies. “Neither workers nor their representatives have any service to report non-compliance in the sanitary actions of prevention services,” said Solaz.

As the data collected by the union indicates, of the 125 people who lost their lives at work last year in Catalonia, 84 were on duty, a figure that jumps by 25.37% compared to the previous year, and in the case of 24 it was in itinere (while traveling to or from work), 9.09% more. In the count made by the trade union organization, 17 workers must be added who are not listed in the statistics as fatal accidents, because they were initially reported as serious but have died in the twelve months following the accident report. During the first three months of 2026, the UGT reports that there have already been 31 fatalities.

Stagnant data

Coinciding with the International Day for Safety and Health at Work, Solaz has presented the union's annual occupational accident report, which puts the total number of work accidents at 206,306. Specifically, 95,104 (a reduction of 0.41% compared to 2024) were for accidents with sick leave during working hours, 90,480 (a drop of 1.22%) for accidents without sick leave, and 20,722 (4.66% more) for in itinere accidents.

These figures, as the national secretary of the union pointed out, confirm a trend of "stagnation" compared to previous years. "While in Europe the trend is clearly downwards, here we continue with a model that does not protect workers," Solaz said at a press conference. Thus, UGT Catalunya has criticized that the evolution of work accidents in Spain seems more linked to circumstantial environmental situations —such as the pandemic— than to structural improvements. "In this country, accidents only decrease when activity stops," the union's national secretary pointed out.

During the presentation of the accident report, Solaz also highlighted the significant number of fatal accidents during working hours that occurred due to non-traumatic pathologies, such as heart attacks or strokes. Specifically, 35 people died from these causes, which represents a "growing trend." Regarding other causes, 44 occurred due to traditional safety risks, such as entrapments, crushings, falls from height, or electrical contacts; while the remaining five were due to causes related to traffic during travel within the working day. By sector, construction has been the most critical this past year, going from 10 fatal accidents to 24 (+140%).