Call for max working temperature cap after EU heatwave deaths

by Patrick Galey
Agence France-Press

PARIS, France (AFP) — Commerce unions referred to as Monday for the European Fee to impose most temperature limits for out of doors staff, after three individuals died whereas on shift in Madrid throughout final week’s withering heatwave.

Whereas a handful of member states have laws limiting working hours in extreme warmth, the thresholds fluctuate and many countries don’t have any nationwide warmth limits.

In line with analysis by the polling company Eurofound, 23 % of all staff throughout the EU have been being uncovered to excessive temperatures 1 / 4 of the time. That determine rises to 36 % in agriculture and business and to 38 % for building staff.

Earlier analysis has linked excessive temperatures to quite a lot of power situations and an elevated threat of office harm.

“Employees are on the frontline of the local weather disaster day-after-day and so they want protections to match the ever-increasing hazard from excessive temperatures,” mentioned Claes-Mikael Stahl, deputy secretary common of the European Commerce Union Confederation.

The ETUC mentioned that the majority EU nations don’t have any most temperature laws for workplaces, though Belgium, Hungary and Latvia all have some curbs on exercise.

In France, the place there are at the moment no working temperature limits, 12 staff died as a consequence of warmth publicity in 2020 alone, the union mentioned.

– ‘Can’t ignore the hazard’ –
Spain, the place three staff died in excessive warmth final week, does have temperature limits in place, however just for sure professions.

A 60-year-old avenue cleaner on a one-month contract died in Madrid on Saturday, after he collapsed on the street from heatstroke whereas working the day before today.

On the time temperatures in Madrid neared 40C.

A 56-year-old warehouse employee in a Madrid suburb additionally died on Saturday after struggling heatstroke whereas on the job.

Safety forces on Thursday introduced the demise of a employee as a consequence of warmth in Paracuellos de Jarama, on the outskirts of the capital.

Final week, the town reached a cope with unions to limit handbook avenue cleansing work to under 39C.

With world common temperatures greater than 1.1C hotter than the pre-Industrial period, Europe is being hit with an increasing number of record-breaking sizzling spells.

International heating will proceed to make lethal heatwaves extra frequent and intense with ever increased ranges of atmospheric carbon air pollution, scientists say.

The UN’s local weather science panel this 12 months warned that tens of tens of millions extra individuals could be subjected to excessive warmth days underneath 2C of warming; nations’ local weather plans have Earth on the right track to heat by 2.7C.

“Heatwaves could be deadly for individuals working unprotected from the solar, as we’ve already witnessed in Spain this summer time,” mentioned Stahl.

“Employees are on the frontline of the local weather disaster day-after-day and so they want protections to match the ever-increasing hazard from excessive temperatures.”

He mentioned the EU wanted continent-wide laws on most working temperatures, since “the climate doesn’t respect nationwide borders”.

“Politicians can’t proceed to disregard the hazard to our most susceptible staff from the consolation of their airconditioned places of work,” he mentioned.

© Agence France-Presse