In a scorching summer, Europe's unions are rallying for new worker protections against heat stress, a growing concern linked to numerous workplace deaths. The push for enforceable thermal limits and mandatory heat risk assessments is gaining momentum, with unions demanding rights to heat breaks, outdoor shade, water, cooling, and adjusted working hours. This movement is supported by a groundswell of union backing and a growing body of research highlighting the dangers of heat stress, with estimates of excess deaths in Europe ranging from 1,300 to 20,000. The European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions (Effat) argues that climate change is no longer a distant threat but a daily occupational health risk. The proposed heat safety law, backed by three major union groups representing 15 million workers, suggests maximum workplace WBGTs (wet bulb globe temperature) of 30C to 32.5C, with work suspended beyond these temperatures. Employers defying these rules would face severe sanctions. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the UK is also calling for a maximum working temperature and the right for workers to stop work if temperatures reach 30C or 27C for strenuous jobs. The TUC's general secretary, Paul Nowak, emphasizes the need for mitigation strategies, including relaxed dress codes, flexible working hours, and protection for outdoor workers. The Heat Strike movement, formed after the UK's hottest day in 2022, has gained momentum, with 1,500 people participating in a national action during the June heatwave. Activists set up cool stations and held symbolic lunchtime walkouts. The issue is gaining political traction, with MEPs and officials taking note, but it faces opposition from right-wing EU labor ministers who favor weaker recommendations. The European Commission's Quality Jobs Act, which could include new heat stress rules, must overcome this resistance to become a reality. As global heating accelerates, with Europe warming twice as fast as the global average, the need for comprehensive worker protections against heat stress becomes increasingly urgent.
