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One month after storm Dana causing the lives of 250 people, Spain is making changes to its labor laws to prevent the risks associated with climate change and disasters. It includes “paid climatic leave”, more extensive collective agreements and a right to information in the event of meteorological risk.
“From the moment that any authority indicates that there is a risk in travel, employees will have to refrain from going to work“, declared Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz. From now on, workers will be compensated for up to four days in the event of a weather risk alert. Once this period has elapsed, companies will be able, if necessary, to request recognition of a case of force majeure in order to unblock existing short-time working schemes.
In addition, collective agreements will henceforth have to include dedicated action protocols, i.e. risk prevention measures specific to disasters and adverse weather phenomena. The aim is to limit travel during periods of climatic alert in order to reduce the risk of accidents.
Finally, workers will be legally entitled to be informed of the actions planned when disaster alerts are activated. This provision follows on from the fact that some companies had asked their employees to maintain their presence at work despite the red alert issued by the National Meteorological Agency (Aemet). The government was criticized for not having sufficiently informed the population of the risks involved.
In the near future, the Ministry of Labour and the Social Economy will be preparing a Royal Decree on the protection of workers against the effects of climate change in the workplace.
