The party described the death as ‘another link in the long, bloody chain of workplace accidents’ in Greece, denouncing government policy on occupational safety and calling for stronger inspection mechanisms, stricter protection protocols and exemplary punishment for breaches of health and safety regulations.

‘Another worker did not return home today. The deadly explosion at the factory in Examilia, Corinth, adds another link to the long, bloody chain of workplace accidents in our country,’ the statement said.

MeRA25 stressed that workplace accidents are not ‘isolated incidents or bad moments’, but the result of broader conditions in the labour market.

‘In July 2026, we are witnessing an ongoing tragedy: from the gross criminal negligence in Aspropyrgos and the construction worker impaled in Elliniko, to the 20-year-old delivery worker in Agia Paraskevi and today’s accident in Corinth,’ the party said.

According to MeRA25, workplace danger is ‘a structural feature of a production model that considers worker safety an “unnecessary cost” and human life expendable material’.

The party cited figures showing that 91 workers have already been killed in workplace accidents in 2026, while annual deaths have consistently exceeded 150 in recent years, amounting to one worker killed every two days.

MeRA25 also denounced what it described as ‘the conscious political choice to dismantle the Labour Inspectorate’, claiming that fewer than half of its 750 established inspector posts are currently operational. It added that entire industrial areas are covered by only three to seven inspectors responsible for tens of thousands of businesses.

‘The absence of inspections gives employers the green light to act with impunity,’ the statement said.

The party also criticised flexible employment practices, subcontracting and work intensification, arguing that they ‘sacrifice technical discipline and safety on the altar of maximum profitability’.

It accused the government of acting as ‘a guardian of employers’ interests at the expense of our lives’.

MeRA25 called for the restoration and full staffing of the Labour Inspectorate with permanent inspectors and meaningful powers to impose fines and suspend operations at dangerous workplaces.

It also demanded the mandatory enforcement of strict safety protocols and technical standards in all production facilities, as well as criminal prosecution and exemplary punishment of employers for breaches of health and safety measures.

The party expressed its condolences to the family and loved ones of the worker who was killed.

‘Organise and fight now for work with rights, dignity and safety. Because our lives matter,’ the statement concluded.

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