The Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) Strike Committee in Tenerife has lodged complaints with the Labour Inspection and the Health Ministry of the Government of the Canary Islands concerning the inadequate condition of the Institute’s facilities, documentation that has also been forwarded to the Common Council.
The complaint also highlights irregularities in relation to the upkeep and overcrowding of bodies in the autopsy room in La Gomera, as mentioned in a joint statement by the unions CCOO, Intersindical, Csif, and STAJ.
Employees state that a visit was paid to the IML headquarters in Tenerife last Monday by the Deputy of the Common, the Chief Prosecutor of the Canary Islands, María Farnés, and members of the General Directorate’s technical office, to inspect the location of the orthopantomogram, crucial for determining the age of migrant minors.
There seems to be a favourable technical office report for its installation without the required assessment from the prevention service or, if conducted, without the knowledge of the prevention delegates, despite it being a restricted area for minors with associated biological risks, as indicated in risk evaluations from 2014 and 2023.
Furthermore, they express disappointment at not being invited to the prevention delegates and note that a thorough cleaning of the area was carried out on Sunday. “What a coincidence,” they remark sarcastically.
The strike committee has announced plans to continue organising rallies every Wednesday, from 11:30 to 12:30, outside the General Directorate (Multipurpose Building II). The committee reminds that IML workers in Tenerife (doctors, forensic pathologists, autopsy assistants, processing and judicial assistance officials, forensic psychologists, and social workers) are on strike to “enhance the public service they deliver, which includes, among other measures, objecting to the removal of the Institute’s director”, whom they accuse of “inept management”.
