Call for max working temperature cap after EU heatwave deaths

FRANCE: Trade Unions called on Monday for the European Commission to impose maximum temperature limits for outdoor workers, after three people died while on shift in Madrid during last week’s withering heatwave.

While a handful of member states have legislation limiting working hours in excessive heat, the thresholds vary and many nations have no nationwide heat limits.

According to research by the polling agency Eurofound, 23% of all workers across the EU were being exposed to high temperatures a quarter of the time. That figure rises to 36 percent in agriculture and industry and to 38 percent for construction workers. Previous research has linked high temperatures to a number of chronic conditions and an elevated risk of workplace injury.

“Workers are on the frontline of the climate crisis every day and they need protections to match the ever-increasing danger from extreme temperatures,” said Deputy Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Claes-Mikael Stahl.

The ETUC said that most EU nations have no maximum temperature legislation for workplaces, although Belgium, Hungary and Latvia all have some curbs on activity.

Spain, where three workers died in extreme heat last week, does have temperature limits in place, but only for certain professions.

– THE BANGKOK POST