Court sides with sacked worker who called for fire investigation

AN ALICANTE court has ordered publicly-owned Tragsa to readmit a sacked forestry worker.

Francisco Peralta criticised the orders he and others received as emergency services fought to control a forest fire in Torre Manzanas in August 2012. 

Two people – one of them a forestry worker – lost their lives in the blaze that spread to nearby Penaguila and Benifallim and took over a day to control.

Peralta was dismissed because he threatened a superior, argued state-owned environment management group Tragsa, although forestry workers in other Alicante province localities took his side. All agreed that he was sacked because he had demanded a thorough investigation into the fire, and they organised a petition on his behalf.

Francisco Peralta appealed against the sacking and an Alicante court has found in his favour, ruling that he was unfairly dismissed. Tragsa had not been able to substantiate its claims, the court said, and ordered them to readmit Peralta or pay him compensation.