Spain to introduce paid ʼweather leaveʼ after floods kill 224

The Spanish government has approved paid "weather leave" of up to four days to allow workers to avoid commuting during extreme weather conditions. This decision was taken against the background of the flood in Valencia, which took the lives of at least 224 people.

This is reported by The Guardian.

Some Spanish companies have been criticized for forcing their workers to continue working — despite warnings from the national meteorological agency about dangerous weather. These employers say the authorities did not inform them properly and sent the phone alerts too late.

Spainʼs Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, said that the governmentʼs new decision will help respond to emergency situations and protect workers from risks. That is, if emergency authorities announce an alarm, people may not go to work.

At the end of October, heavy rains hit Valencia, killing 224 people. Streams of muddy water swept away everything in their path: cars floated at high speed along with trees. The water rose up to three meters.

Local residents accused the regional authorities of giving a late warning about the flooding and starting to send alerts to local phones when the flooding had already been going on for several hours. More than 130,000 people protested demanding the resignation of the head of the region, Carlos Mason. However, he refused to go.

• This flood is the largest in Europe since 1967 and with the highest number of victims in the modern history of Spain.

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