Jéssica de León highlights fall in workplace accidents in Fuerteventura in 2026

The Canary Islands Government’s Minister for Tourism and Employment, Jéssica de León, presented workplace accident figures for the first half of 2026 in Fuerteventura on Thursday, during the annual meeting with the island’s employers’ and trade union organisations. Also attending were Director General for Labour José Ramón Rodríguez; Elirerto Galván, director of the Canary Islands Institute for Occupational Safety (ICASEL); and Andrés Fernández, head of the provincial Labour and Social Security Inspectorate.

De León said the figures recorded in the first months of the year showed a positive trend. “The good news is that the incidence rate across the Canary Islands has fallen by 6.7%, so the figures for the first half of the year are positive and we hope this trend will continue during the second half of the year,” the minister said.

Another key indicator in the Canary Islands is the fall in fatal accidents. The minister explained that one of the main targets set for 2026 was to reduce fatal accidents, particularly those occurring while commuting, which, together with cardiovascular conditions, accounted for a large share of workplace deaths in 2025. She noted that fatal accidents had fallen significantly in the first half of the year.

ICASEL figures show that Fuerteventura recorded 744 workplace accidents resulting in time off work between January and May 2026: 742 were minor, two were serious and none were fatal.

The minister said the figures should also be considered in the context of employment trends on the island. “We have to bear in mind that the number of people in work in Fuerteventura has also risen, that the number of employees and the opportunities created have increased, and that unemployment has fallen.” She added that the results strengthened the Canary Islands Government’s commitment to preventing workplace risks through initiatives tailored to the island’s productive sectors and awareness campaigns promoting increasingly safe working environments.

Initiatives planned for 2026 include technical advice programmes for businesses, targeted measures in hospitality, construction and retail, road-safety campaigns to prevent commuting accidents, and a grant scheme to promote workplace risk prevention in companies.

Director General for Labour José Ramón Rodríguez said the trend in workplace accidents in Fuerteventura during the first five months of 2026 showed a significant improvement on the previous year. “We have reduced the total number of workplace accidents by 47 compared with the same period in 2025, with two fewer serious accidents and, most importantly, no fatal accidents,” he said.

Rodríguez said reducing serious and fatal accidents was the main objective of workplace risk-prevention policies pursued in collaboration with social partners.

The director general also highlighted the work of the Labour Inspectorate on the island, where seven staff are currently based: three inspectors and four sub-inspectors. Between January and May 2026, they carried out 1,389 inspections and other actions, of which just 202 resulted in penalties. Rodríguez said this showed the body’s preventive and advisory role. “The Labour Inspectorate does not always impose penalties; it also provides information and advice and helps companies improve workplace health and safety,” he concluded.