Barcelona City Council has come under scrutiny following the death of a municipal street cleaner who passed away on Saturday, shortly after completing her shift during the current heatwave.
Montse Aguilar, aged 51, had been working from 2.30pm to 9.30pm in the Gothic Quarter of the city – a day when temperatures in Barcelona soared past 35°C.
Reports indicate that she suddenly collapsed at home while having dinner. Emergency services were dispatched promptly but were unable to revive her.
In a statement issued on Monday morning, Barcelona City Council initially stated there would be no internal investigation.
According to officials, FCC – the subcontractor that employed the woman – had adhered to all established safety measures concerning heat conditions.
Carlos Vázquez, who heads the city’s cleaning service, confirmed on Sunday that FCC had submitted documentation showing it followed the city’s heat protocol.
Later on Monday, however, new information reported by the media raised doubts about the council’s initial stance.
El País revealed that the cleaner had shown signs of distress during her shift. She reportedly sent a WhatsApp message to a friend saying that she thought she was ‘dying’ on Saturday afternoon and that she had suffered cramps and pain in her arms, chest and neck – stating that it was while she was working on a street near Barcelona Cathedral. Around 11pm, as she was starting dinner at home, she collapsed. She died instantly.
Her family stated she had also described her symptoms to her mother and notified her shift supervisor after returning home.
According to relatives, she had no known health issues and they believe her death may have been caused by heatstroke. They plan to file a formal complaint once autopsy results are available.
In response to the new evidence, the city council reversed its previous decision and announced on Monday evening that it would open a preliminary investigation into FCC’s conduct.
Where it had initially declined to take action, the council said that ‘in light of the new information available’, an investigation will now be conducted to determine the precise circumstances surrounding the worker’s death.
City authorities met on Tuesday with the four contracted street cleaning companies to examine and compare the various heat protocols currently in use.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Laia Bonet, deputy mayor and head of urban services, said: ‘No one knows, at the current time, the causes of the death’ of the worker.
However, she said that the council was also issuing new protocols.
‘Every year, we’re seeing a new face of climate change and the effects of increasing temperatures on our city. That means we need to update our protocols every year,’ said Bonet, after meeting with sanitation companies.
The CCOO labour union has criticised the city council for its delayed response.
‘The city council cannot U-turn on these cases, what they should have done is open an investigation from the first moment,’ said Isabel Guitiérrez, secretary general of CCOO Hàbitat in Catalonia.
Meanwhile, the CGT labour union reported that two additional workers have been hospitalised due to exposure to extreme heat while on duty.
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