Refuse collectors in Spain’s Gran Canaria suspended without pay for refusing to work without Covid-19 protection

FIFTEEN council refuse collectors in Spain’s Gran Canaria have been suspended without pay for refusing to work one shift last month amid fears for their health and safety.

Telde’s cleaning staff have been informed that they will be suspended for 10 days without pay for refusing to work three weeks ago.

According to Canaries 7, on March 16, 15 refuse collectors refused to go to work because they didn’t have the Special Protection Equipment (EPI), nor were there the appropriate safety measures.

“We have to go (about our work) stuck to the back of the lorry, there is no disinfectant gel, and the gloves and masks are deficient,” the workers said at the time.

As a protest measure, and also because of the fear of infecting Covid-19 and passing it on to their families, some of the staff instead spent the night at the company’s facilities, in Melenera Business Park.

The ‘stoppage’ apparently only lasted one day as the UTE “threatened them that their attitude would have consequences if they did not perform their duties the next day.”

And so, in fear of reprisals and without solving the lack of equipment, they returned to normal service the next day.

However, according to reports, this didn’t prevent action which both workers and political parties consider disproportionate.

“The PSOE denounces the fact that workers who provide an essential service are punished for demanding the special protection equipment and security measures established in the State of Alarm,” the socialist group responded.