Spain has introduced a paid four-day “climate leave” policy to protect workers during extreme weather events, one month after the deadliest storm in Spain’s recent history. The Valencia storm claimed at least 225 lives in October and November, and many people were impacted during their work commutes.
On Nov. 28, the Spanish labor ministry updated the workers’ statute to allow employees to take leave during climate disasters or adverse weather that makes traveling to work unsafe.
“Faced with climate and political denialism, the people need more rights and protection,” Yolanda Díaz, Spain’s labor and social economy minister, wrote on X.
Unions celebrated the move, saying that workers already have to the right to not go to work if their lives are at risk, but was not implemented during the disaster.
Thousands of Spaniards had to go to work despite the red and amber alerts during the historic storms, which caused almost 500 millimeters (19 inches) of rain to fall in under eight hours. More than 69,000 homes and 12,500 shops were damaged by the floods, according to Spain’s economy ministry.
“This was an answer to a catastrophe,” Ana Barreira, CEO of the Madrid-based International Institute for Law and the Environment, told Mongabay by phone. “The measure allows people to stay home. There were many people in their cars who lost their lives. People either going to work or transporting goods.”
More than 200 workers were stranded overnight at the Bonaire shopping mall in Valencia due to the floods. One worker reported that her supervisor did not allow the team to go home as the situation was not “serious enough,” and she was later deemed “lazy” for not selling enough lunches in the midst of the disaster.
Barreira says the measure is beneficial for businesses and insurance companies, as it reduces risks and prevents injuries. “It is better for a business to have someone stay home for four days instead of paying leave for four months,” she said.
“We hadn’t ever thought about it before. But now, when you see the impact, you have a new way of thinking,” Barreira added, comparing the measure with the influx of environmental laws following oil spills in the 1980s and ‘90s.
The government says the measure will help orient both workers and employers during these events, preventing unsafe working conditions. The policy ties leave eligibility to official climate alerts from meteorological authorities. Employers have to cover the cost of the leave for the first four days, after which the government will cover additional labor costs.
“This is a big step towards protecting the most vulnerable during the climate emergency,” Marta Olazabal, a climate change adaptation expert at the Basque Centre for Climate Change in Spain, wrote to Mongabay in an email.
Banner image: Cleanup efforts in Paiporta, Valencia, following Spain’s historic floods. Image courtesy of Spain’s Ministry of Defense (UME/OCP).
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