Spain adopts paid ‘climate leave’ policy following deadly floods

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…This article was originally published on Mongabay