Only a handful of European countries have legislation to protect workers during heat waves.
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At the heart of a summer when Europe has already suffered two periods of heat wave, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is pleading on Monday for the adoption of a law which would set a maximum temperature at work on the continent.
“Two workers died of heat stroke in Spain last week. In France, a country that does not cap temperatures at work, 12 people died from heat-related work accidents in 2020”, notes the ETUC in a press release. The balance sheet even increased Thursday in Spain, the emergency services of the Madrid region having announced the death “due to heat stroke” of a man who distributed leaflets in mailboxes.
500 dead in Spain
“Across the European Union, 23% of workers are exposed to high temperatures for at least a quarter” of their working time, a percentage that rises to 36% in the agriculture and industry sectors and 38% in construction according to figures from the Eurofound agency. However, “only a handful of European countries have legislation to protect workers during heat waves”with « grandes variations » from one state to another.
According to the unions affiliated to the ETUC, Belgian workers whose jobs are physically demanding cannot work when the temperature exceeds 22°C. The limit is set 5°C higher in Hungary for the same type of work, while Slovenia caps the temperature at 28°C in all workplaces. However, according to the World Health Organization, the optimal working temperature is between 16 and 24°C.
“Workers are on the front line of the climate crisis every day, they need adequate protections”warns ETUC Deputy General Secretary Claes-Mikael Stahl. “Weather conditions do not care about national borders. This is why we need EU-wide legislation on maximum temperatures at work”he continues in the press release.
The heat wave that hit Western Europe in mid-July killed more than 500 people in Spain and broke many temperature records in France, the United Kingdom and Denmark. The multiplication of heat waves is a direct consequence of the climate crisis according to scientists, with greenhouse gas emissions increasing in intensity, duration and frequency.
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