People are dying because there is no maximum working temperature law

The summer has finally arrived and, while for many, feeling the sun’s rays is a relief after a long winter, it is becoming an increasingly dangerous time of year for millions of people who work outdoors. 

Workers in agriculture, construction or refuse collection are among millions of people who face the effects of climate change on our planet every day as they try to make a living.

As well as suffering from heat stroke, high temperatures contribute to workplace accidents and long term exposure is linked with kidney disease and other chronic illnesses.

In 2020, more than 80,000 people suffered injuries and 67 people died as a result of working in extreme heat in the European Union, according to the International Labour Organisation.

That represents a 42 percent increase in the number of people dying at work due to extreme heat since the start of the century, meaning heat-related work fatalities are rising faster in the EU than any other part of the world.

Even workers in countries with cooler climate like Iceland, Ireland, Denmark, and Norway have been affected.  

Our climate is changing quickly but our laws our failing to keep up.

When temperatures rise above 30°C, the risk of workplace accidents increases by up to seven percent and, when temperatures exceed 38°C, accidents are up to 15 percent more likely.

Meanwhile exposure to excessive UV radiation leaves outdoor workers at a significantly increased risk of skin cancer.

Despite the increasing risk, only a few European countries have legislation to keep workers safe during heatwaves, with a wide variation in temperature limits and enforcement.

As a result, every summer sees vulnerable people lose their lives.

Last summer, a worker at a shipyard in Greece was made to work outside alone in 37°C heat despite the fact he had a heart condition.

In Italy, a 75-year-old crane operator, Ciro Adinolfi, died of a heart attack in front of his son while working on the construction site of an Amazon warehouse in temperatures approaching 40°C.

While the previous summer in Spain, a 60-year-old fainted and died while working in a warehouse near Madrid died where his colleagues said the heat had reached 46°C.

All of these tragedies, and dozens like them, were avoidable.

The European Commission published guidelines for employers last summer that set out the measures they need to take to mitigate the rising heat risk at work, particularly for older workers or those with a medical condition. 

Employers are meant to consult workers and their unions about how to manage heat risks, including through providing more breaks, a supply of water, a shaded area and protective clothing.

However too often employers refuse to take common sense measures to keep people safe, preferring to call them 'red tape' in order to keep a few more euros in profits.

CEOs sitting in air conditioned offices are condemning hardworking people to hellish conditions on building sites, in warehouses or in our fields.

We’re not talking about a small number of people in rare cases.

Workers most at risk at from extreme heat work in the most precarious and unregulated sectors of the economy

Eurofound data shows that 23 percent of all workers are exposed to high temperatures at least a quarter of the time. That rises to 36 percent in agriculture and industry, and 38 percent in construction.

The risk of extreme heat is now too widespread and severe to depend on employers to implement voluntary guidelines.

In particular because the workers most at risk at from extreme heat work in the most precarious and unregulated sectors of the economy. 

It is clear then that the new European Commission must make it an obligation for employers to protect their workforce from extreme heat.

When the political guidelines for the new Commission are published, it is essential that they include a commitment to deliver a directive on maximum working temperatures.

That directive should give workers the right to take a break in a shaded area with a supply of drinking water during period of extreme heat.

It should also ensure workers receive training on how to manage heat stress for at-risk workers and that heat risks are managed through collective bargaining with trade unions.

That’s important because evidence shows workers are most likely to be pushed beyond safe limits in extreme heat in workplaces without trade union representation.

All of this is of course just common sense.

In the European Union, which prides itself on a social market economy, the right to take a break in extreme temperatures should not be controversial.

And yet every summer dozens of workers lose their lives in Europe because they pushed to keep working.

It is time to stop these avoidable tragedies by changing our laws to fit the changing climate.