The number of workers whose lives were needlessly put at risk during the recent DANA flooding shows why Europe urgently needs to adapt working practices to climate change, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said in Valencia today.
Speaking at the congress of the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) being held in the city of Valencia, Esther Lynch said “no event in recent memory showed more clearly how all workers are on the frontline of climate change.”
A red weather warning was issued by the AEMET Spanish meteorological institute at 7.37am on the morning of Tuesday October 9. Under Spanish law, work should have been suspended.
Despite that, there are numerous reports of companies forcing people to go to or remain at work. It meant many were later trapped in their cars or their workplaces when the flooding hit.
“So many of the people trapped in their cars were forced to make unnecessary journeys to work because profits were put before people’s lives,” said Lynch. “Many others were trapped in their workplaces, with some forced to climb onto shelves or even the roofs to escape the waters."
“This was a climate disaster that turned into a labour disaster because of the negligence of employers and the Valencian government. Bosses who put workers’ lives at risk by ignoring health and safety rules should face the full force of the law.”
Not an isolated incident
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to bring forward a European Climate Adaptation Plan to deal with the rising threat from extreme weather events like flooding.
At the EFFAT congress, trade unionists will call for that plan to include EU legislation on maximum working temperatures and extreme weather events, as well as compensation for days lost due to extreme weather events.
Legislation should ensure that workers across Europe are genuinely able to stop work in the event of extreme weather events, whether it be flooding or high temperatures.
“You know better than anyone that the flooding is Valencia is an extreme but far from an isolated incident,” Lynch told the congress. “Workers in every sector represented by EFFAT are regularly forced to work in extreme weather conditions. There has been a significant increase in the number of people dying in Europe due to being forced to work in extreme heat, with agriculture and tourism workers particularly at risk.”
“It is clear that we need EU legislation to better protect workers during extreme weather events, whether it is flooding, high winds, or heatwaves. Also, it is key to reinforce occupation health and safety in law, inspections and enforcement in practice. The climate is changing, and the world of work must adapt to it.”
Photo: Flickr/Creative Commons
