The Spanish government will ban outdoor work during the summer heat peaks

2023-05-10 14:37:16

MadridThe exceptional drought situation that Catalonia and also much of the State has been experiencing for months has forced the Spanish government to move. He will hold an extraordinary council of ministers on Thursday to approve more measures to deal with the current drought, such as more aid for farmers or adapting hydraulic infrastructure to the emergency situation, government sources confirmed. But it also plans to adopt measures to deal with the heat peaks that have already been noticed this year earlier than usual and that last year caused the death of some workers from heat stroke.

Thus, as Cadena SER has advanced, to deal with the high temperatures one of the measures will be to prohibit some sectors from having to work when Aemet decrees an orange or red alert, as confirmed by the second vice-president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, speaking to the media. Díaz did not specify which sectors it would be about and only gave the example of urban cleaning workers. The second vice-president has explained that they will modify the labor legislation to “adapt” it to the weather conditions.

At the end of April, the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, already explained that the severe drought was of great concern to the Spanish government and his ministry had begun to consider measures to help farmers, one of the most affected sectors. Thus, he announced that Spain expected to be able to make use of the crisis reserve of the common agricultural policy (CAP). But he needed Brussels to give the go-ahead. The council of ministers this Thursday plans to approve more aid aimed at farmers. In addition, it plans to adopt more measures to adapt the hydraulic infrastructures of the entire State to the drought situation. Measures that could affect reservoirs, canals and dams.

So far, the Spanish government has already adopted some measures. It has approved aid to the agricultural and livestock sector of 650 million euros, in addition to fiscal measures such as the postponement of social contributions for companies and the self-employed or the reduction of personal income tax for farmers and ranchers. The executive has also approved investments dedicated to water, such as the modernization of irrigation systems and the purification or sanitation of ecosystems.