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

BarcelonaDuring 2025, 125 people lost their lives at their workplace in Catalonia, according to data collected by UGT de Catalunya. 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 work accidents be toughened and has stated that they should be "equated" to those already applied when data protection law is violated: "Losing a memory stick cannot be more expensive than the life of a worker," stated the national secretary of UGT de Catalunya, Reyes Solaz. Thus, she pointed out that it is "not normal" for companies to spend "a lot of money" on security software while they "skimp" on prevention tools.

In the midst of the debate on workplace absenteeism, the union stated that the focus cannot fall on the workers, and demanded more risk prevention measures in companies. "While some fill their mouths talking about absenteeism, the reality is that work continues to make workers sick and kill them," said Solaz, who added that "sick leaves are not the problem, they are the consequence." Along these lines, UGT has also called for the creation of a health labor inspection that would be a "real tool" to supervise prevention policies.

As the data collected by the union indicates, of the 125 people who lost their lives at work last year in Catalonia, 84 died during working hours, a figure that jumps by 25.37% compared to the previous year, and in the case of 24, they died "in itinere" (while traveling to or from work), an increase of 9.09%. 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 died within twelve months of the accident being reported. During the first three months of 2026, UGT reports that there have already been 31 fatalities.

Stagnant data

Coinciding with the International Day of Safety and Health at Work, Solaz has presented the union's annual labor 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 work 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 pointed out by the national secretary of the union, confirm a trend of "stagnation" compared to previous years. "While in Europe the trend is clearly downward, here we continue with a model that does not protect workers," Solaz said at a press conference.

During the presentation of the accident report, Solaz also highlighted the significant number of fatal accidents during work 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." As for the rest of the causes, 44 occurred due to traditional safety risks, such as entrapments, crushing, falls from height, or electrical contacts; while the remaining five were due to causes related to traffic during commutes within the workday.