MADRID (AP) 鈥� When Jos茅 Antonio Gonz谩lez started his afternoon shift sweeping the streets of Madrid, the temperature was 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) amid a heat wave gripping Spain.
After a long time without a job, Gonz谩lez couldn鈥檛 afford to pass up a one-month summer contract to sweep the city, where he lived in a working-class neighborhood. Three hours later, the 60-year-old collapsed with heat stroke and was found lying in the street he was cleaning.
An ambulance took the father of two to the hospital, where he died on Saturday.
His death is driving a debate in Spain about the need to adapt labor arrangements to climate change. The poorest in society, often the elderly and the low-paid such as construction workers and delivery riders for whom heat stress is a workplace hazard, have long been identified as being at a disadvantage in attempts to adjust to rising temperatures.
鈥淚t鈥檚 obvious that social inequalities play a part鈥� in how much people suffer during heat waves, says J煤lio D铆az of Spain鈥檚 Carlos III Health Institute.
鈥淓nduring a heat wave in an air-conditioned house with a swimming pool is not the same as five people in the same room with a window as the only source of fresh air,鈥� he told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE.
The recent torrid weather in Europe, which has seen a spike in the number and size of wildfires, is forcing the issue to the forefront.
France has already taken some steps to alleviate heat inequality after a 2003 heat wave caused 15,000 heat-related deaths, many of them older people left in city apartments and retirement homes without air conditioning.
Ahead of , which set some record temperatures this week, the government reminded employers of their legal obligation to protect workers in extreme heat. That includes free drinking water, ventilation and, if possible, changing working hours and providing extra breaks.
And as Britain prepared for this week鈥檚 heat wave, which saw labor unions urged the government to impose maximum workplace temperatures for the first time. Many homes, small businesses and even public buildings in Britain do not have air-conditioning.
Unite, the country鈥檚 biggest union, is pushing for a maximum workplace temperature of 27 C (80.6 F) for 鈥渟trenuous鈥欌�� jobs and 30 C (86 F) for sedentary jobs. The union also says employers should be required to take steps to reduce indoor temperatures and impose strict protections for outdoor workers whenever temperatures reach 24 C (75.2 F).
鈥淎s the climate changes, it is vital that health and safety law is updated in line with the serious challenges this presents for workers,鈥� said Rob Miguel, Unite鈥檚 national adviser on health and safety.
In Madrid, Gonz谩lez鈥檚 21-year-old son, Miguel 脕ngel, says his father, days before he died, had searched on the internet for 鈥渉ow to deal with heat stroke.鈥� The evening before he died, he had arrived home from his cleaning shift gasping for air.
Scientists say the worsening of pre-existing illnesses, not heat strokes themselves, are the main cause of deaths linked to the high temperatures.
The Carlos III Health Institute estimates that 150 deaths in Spain were somehow linked to the heat wave on the day that Gonz谩lez died. The following day, the institute attributed 169 deaths to the heat, bringing a total of 679 cases during just the first week of the heat wave.
Ramming home the danger, another Madrid street sweeper was hospitalized with heat stroke on Tuesday.
In places accustomed to high temperatures, such as Spain's southern Andalusia region, construction workers already work only morning hours during the summer.
Three days after Gonz谩lez's death, Madrid officials agreed with labor groups that street cleaners could postpone their afternoon shift and work instead amid cooler evening temperatures.
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Hatton contributed from Lisbon, Portugal. John Leicester in Le Pecq, France and Danica Kirka in London contributed.
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Follow AP鈥檚 climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.
Raquel Redondo And Barry Hatton, The Associated Press
