The explosion of an industrial boiler in an industrial warehouse in Ibi, Alicante dedicated to the manufacture of plastic containers and packaging, has caused the death of these three workers and seven injured, after the roof and part of the walls of the factory fell. According to information from the Information and Coordination Centre for Emergencies of the Generalitat (CICU).

“They are young and hard-working people” declared the mayor of Ibi, Sergio Carrasco.

Once again, three lives cut short, three families broken. From the diocesan Secretariat of Pastoral Care of Labour, we express our pain to their families and friends.

Dying at work

The loss of life at work and in excessive occasions work accidents is a serious problem that needs to be addressed in depth.

The Law on the Prevention of Workplace Accidents, the Labour Inspection, the prevention training that workers receive, and the efforts made by social agents are manifestly insufficient to tackle this serious problem.

According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) as of September 2024, there have been 880,852 workplace accidents, resulting in 573 workers killed at work.

Given this reality, it is necessary to remember that the Social Magisterium of the Church states among the rights of workers the right “to work environments and production processes that do not cause harm to the physical health of workers and do not damage their moral integrity.”[1]

Work is for life

People are the true wealth: without them there is no work community, no company, no economy. Safety at work means safeguarding human resources, which have an inestimable value in the eyes of God and also in the eyes of the true employer. It is necessary to support their struggles, making visible the work accidents and the loss of health in the workplace, while supporting these families from Ibi, who have suffered this misfortune.

From the Diocesan Secretariat of Pastoral Care of Labor, we support the workers who strive to dignify work, because we believe that, “By taking care of work, we take care of life.”

No more deaths at work!

[1] Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 301