The Social Court Number 6 of Bilbao has issued a ruling in which it is recognized that the period of medical leave due to asthma of a worker has its origin in her job as a cleaner and is related to exposure to a cleaning product concrete. After knowing the sentence, the CCOO Euskadi union has demanded that companies through a statement replace the most harmful products as a preventive measure against this type of ailment.
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As reported by the CCOO union, the MGMG worker has been recognized that the period of medical leave due to asthma that she had originated in her job as a cleaner and is related to exposure to a specific cleaning product. The employee is part of the company Sacyr Facilities SA and she carries out her work in the Court of Getxo, a place that lacks windows and, therefore, does not guarantee an adequate level of ventilation.
The worker has a history of asthma which has caused other periods of temporary incapacity, each of which has lasted for several days. At the time of the episode, which has been recognized as a work accident, MGMG went to the mutual insurance company Asepeyo, the entity responsible for managing professional contingencies, which did not recognize the professional origin of the illness due to the existence of those periods previous.
Important sentence that recognizes the professional origin of asthma due to exposure to a detergent in the cleaning sector. Congratulations to @CCOOeuskadi for their union action https://t.co/WpJ6RdZm0r
– Occupational Health CCOO (@SaludLab_CCOO) January 31, 2022
However, the judgment considers that the period of sick leave referred to and that is recognized as an accident at work, is related to the product “G3 Chlorinated Disinfectant Detergent” due to the extension of the sick leave period itself, which on this occasion has lasted two months. and ten days. The worker developed the new episode of asthma at the time she started using the product in question, while she did not experience new episodes once she stopped using the product and switched to another.
The sentence also includes, based on a report prepared by Osalan, that the product “could cause intoxication in those people who suffered excessive exposure, establishing the prospectus itself the need to supply clean air and keep the affected person at rest.”
For this reason, CCOO has required companies in the cleaning sector to replace products that are more harmful to workers or that could cause specific ailments to any of them, and to use products that are less dangerous. The union understands that the MGMG case is an example that this type of substitution can be carried out and limit the exposures that have caused someone to suffer in their workplace.
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