Spain introduces ‘paid climate leave’ after catastrophic floods

Spain’s leftist government on Thursday introduced a “paid climate leave”, allowing employees to take up to four days of offs to avoid travelling during weather emergencies, AFP reported.

The aftermath of the deadly floods as seen in eastern Spain’s Valencia region.(AFP)

The decision comes a month after catastrophic floods, that hit Valencia in the end of October, killed 230 people.

At the time of the October floods, several companies drew ire for ordering their employees to keep working even after the national weather agency issued a red alert.

The companies had said that authorities did not inform them before hand and sent telephone alerts too late during one of the deadliest floods the country has seen.

Labour minister Yolanda Dias told public broadcaster RTVE that the new policy aims to “regulate in accordance with the climate emergency” so that no worker is forced to take risks. If emergency service workers raise an alarm about a risk, “the worker must refrain from going to work”, Diaz added.

If the necessity goes beyond four days, then employees can take reduced working days, a system that already exists for emergency situations, the Spanish government said.

The legislation is reportedly inspired by similar laws in Canada, The Guardian’s report said.

It further cited a El Pais report, wherein Diaz said, “In the face of climate denialism from the right, the Spanish government is committed to green policies.”

Meanwhile, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo warned that the cost of extreme weather events could double by 2050. This came as the government announced 2.3 billion euros of fresh aid for flood victims.

Scientists have said that human activity is driving climate change and also fueling the increased length, frequency, and aggression of natural disasters. Extremely rainfall driven by climate change is more common across Europe, most of Asia, central and eastern North America, and some parts of South America, Australia, and Africa.

Reportedly, except eight, all the deaths caused by the floods were in Valencia, where conservative regional president Carlos Mazon accepted that mistakes were made.

However, he refused to step down and claimed that the “apocalyptic” scale of the disaster simply overloaded the system.

Just two weeks after the floods, incessant rainfall hit several parts of Spain again, forcing around 3,000 people to evacuate their homes in the Málaga region.

(with AFP inputs)