The autopsy of the seasonal worker from Alcarràs indicates that he died of heat stroke.

BarcelonaThe cause of The death of the seasonal worker who died on Monday in Alcarràs while working harvesting fruit It was "acute cardiorespiratory failure in the context of heat stress." This is according to a preliminary forensic report obtained by the newspaper. SegreThe death of the 61-year-old worker from Lleida occurred between 4:24 p.m. and 4:50 p.m., according to this initial autopsy. On Monday, temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in the area.

The seasonal worker's son told the Lleida newspaper that his father told him he was feeling ill at 1:30 p.m. and that he asked permission to go home, but that the manager told him to rest under a tree. "He died alone under a tree; we demand justice," claimed Idiu Vranciu, son of the deceased, Gheorghe Vranciu. Vranciu claims that the company "took more than two hours to call the ambulance," since, according to what he learned from his father's colleagues, the company didn't make the call until 4:00 p.m. "If they had called for help earlier, which is normal when someone is feeling ill, especially in the heat, perhaps they could have saved his life. (...) The manager said she had been drinking, and that wasn't true," adds Vranciu Jr. The family has not ruled out taking legal action against the hiring company.

The temporary employment agency (ETT) that had hired the seasonal worker already stated this Wednesday that the worker had died "as a result of heat stroke." In a statement, Empleo Express lamented "the work-related accident" and explained that it had assigned the worker to "a user company." The ETT affirms that it has made its resources available to the labor authorities and is collaborating "fully and actively" in the investigation that should clarify the circumstances of the "tragic event." It also asserts that the worker had received the "necessary" training and information on occupational risk prevention, in coordination with the user company.

The case remains open, pending the final results of the autopsy to confirm the cause of death and whether the victim had any underlying medical conditions. A spokesperson for the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) told EFE that they have already submitted their report on the circumstances surrounding the seasonal worker's death to the court investigating the incident and to the Labor Inspectorate.

The farmers denounce that they are being "criminalized."

Coinciding with this latest fatal accident in the fields, the Unió de Pagesos union organized a press conference this Thursday to denounce the "single-minded" and "criminalized" nature of the entire sector, when most farmers "do things right." The organization asserted that labor inspections already exist to monitor the working conditions of seasonal workers. Therefore, they have asked both the CCOO (Working Council of Workers) and the UGT (General Workers' Union) to focus on investigating those temporary employment agencies that subcontract employees where malpractice is present.

"This criminalization of the peasantry is totally unfair. It's put us all in the same category," protested Carol Aixut, head of seasonal workers at Unió de Pagesos. The union's representatives argued that most farms work with advisory services for occupational risk prevention, which recommend the hours during which they should stop working due to high temperatures. "You've treated us like exploiters, as if we didn't even give you water. I find these accusations of murderers outrageous," added Aixut, who claimed that farmers and their families also suffer from the heat in the fields and are aware of the challenges that climate change poses for their work.

The Unió de Pagesos (Farmers' Union) expressed surprise that the Government delegation in Lleida called them to an emergency meeting to discuss this issue, insisting that everything was fine at the last meeting. The delegate, Núria Gil, defended the fact that the protocols in the fields regarding the safety of seasonal workers "are well implemented," although she admitted that they are "generic" and that "there are issues that need to be further refined" during episodes of intense heat. In this sense, the Government's intention is to work with the sector "to go hand in hand" and identify new measures that are not included in the protocols to protect workers. Gil also defended the sector's professionalism and asked that it not be criticized because most companies "follow the recommendations and do their work very well."

On the other hand, the president of Afrucat, Montse Baró, said that Catalan fruit producers are doing "everything possible" to minimize the risks to workers in the fields. The business representative admitted that this is a "very unpleasant" event for the sector and called for "caution" because the autopsy of the man who died "is preliminary and not definitive."

At the end of June, another seasonal worker died abandoned in Fraga after suffering heat stroke while working on a fruit farm in Baix Cinca, in the province of Huesca. The worker was then taken to the municipal health center by several crew members in a van. They asked for treatment, warned of the seriousness of his condition, and left without giving any further details once the paramedics took over, whose efforts failed to save his life.