Amid massive Spain and Portugal blackout, we need ‘extreme weather’ protections for workers

“Extreme temperature variations” reportedly caused a massive blackout in Spain and Portugal on 28 April. And on the same day, trade union Unite marked International Workers’ Memorial Day released “a set of policy proposals to protect workers from the impact of extreme weather”.

The electricity grid operator in Portugal, REN, claimed that a “rare atmospheric phenomenon” caused a “fault in the Spanish electricity grid”. This has left many millions of people without power for several hours.

This very much ties in to Unite’s statement about protecting workers in situations of extreme weather disruption.

The union surveyed over a thousand members from Northern Ireland, following on from the “2018 death of Unite member Matthew Campbell, who was killed while working during Storm Ali”. And of 59% of workers “whose work included outdoor responsibilities” who “still had to perform them on the day of the storm”, the union reported that “only 23% said they felt safe and 66% said they did not consider their employer had taken all reasonable precautions”.

More than half of outdoor workers who didn’t have to work during the storm, meanwhile, “had to take the day as annual leave, unpaid leave, flexitime, sick leave or time-off-in-lieu, (TOIL) or holiday”.

“Workers must not be made to pay the price… for a climate crisis not of their making”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham stated:

we are demanding that the government climate-proof health and safety laws to ensure that workers’ lives and incomes are protected during extreme weather.

Specifically in Northern Ireland, Unite is pushing for a number of ‘Extreme Weather’ protections. The union said:

As well as statutory maximum working temperatures, Unite’s proposals include an obligation on employers to conduct risk assessments during extreme weather events, cease all routine outdoor work during orange alerts and cease all non-essential work (whether indoor or outdoor) during red alerts, with workers continuing to be paid during such closures.

It added that it:

is also proposing four days’ paid climate leave, along the lines of that introduced in Spain following last year’s devastating Valencia floods, if conditions render travel hazardous or workers need to address pressing domestic needs resulting from extreme weather.

As Unite regional secretary Susan Fitzgerald insisted:

Accelerating climate change means that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather are set to increase.  Workers must not be made to pay the price – in terms of their safety, health and livelihoods – for a climate crisis not of their making.

Spain and Portugal blackout: ‘extreme is the new normal’

As the Guardian reported in February after the hottest January on record, “extreme weather is our new reality”. Other records are falling too. And that’s set to continue.

With this in mind, Unite’s demands for working protections must become the minimum that we expect from our employers and governments.

Featured image via the Canary