Unions urge employers to keep workers safe during ‘red alert’ heatwave

With a heatwave enveloping the country, unions have called for action over extreme temperatures at work. The Met Office has announced amber and red weather warnings for extreme heat in Southern England, the Midlands, the south of the North West and Yorkshire.

Retail trade union Usdaw has called on employers to mitigate issues with high temperatures, to keep workers safe in the current heatwave. Usdaw is also calling for a maximum workplace temperature, which was recently recommended by the advisory Climate Change Committee. They described it as “essential” and called for a raft of measures to protect Britons against worsening heat, floods and droughts, including maximum temperature regulations to protect workers and air conditioning in hospitals, care homes, schools and homes of vulnerable people.

Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary said:

Heat stress is a real health and safety risk that can lead to more accidents and injuries. As the temperature rises, heat exhaustion starts. People begin to suffer loss of concentration, irritability, dizziness, headaches, nausea and fainting. Under current regulations, there is a legal minimum temperature limit for working indoors. However, there is currently no law stating a maximum – only the responsibility to assess the risks and provide temporary, local cooling methods, access to water and rest facilities where necessary.

Despite the absence of legislation, we are calling on employers to take measures to keep workers safe and work with trade union health and safety reps to provide substantial measures to mitigate the risks. No-one should have to work in extreme and dangerous conditions.

Usdaw has long campaigned for the introduction of a legal maximum working temperature of 30°C, or 27°C for those doing strenuous work, with employers obliged to adopt cooling measures when the workplace temperature hits 24°C. So, we welcomed the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee and look to the Government to act. Workers deserve a legal right to be protected from the heat and as the world hurtles towards 1.5 degrees of warming, this issue is only going to become more of an urgent priority.

Meanwhile, the GMB has said that schools must take ‘immediate action’ to protect pupils and staff when temperatures top 30 degrees Celsius.

The union has written to the Department for Education calling for enhanced heat controls, reduced heat exposure, lowered physical demand and increased access to water. If school leaders cannot reduce temperatures to comfortable and safe levels, they should consider closing the relevant parts of the school estate, the letter adds.

Stacey Booth, GMB National Officer, said:

No pupil or member of staff should be expected to learn or work in unsafe levels of heat.

Once temperatures exceed 30°C, schools should act quickly, use the cooler parts of the building, reduce physical demands, increase water breaks and make sensible adjustments to uniform and duties.

These are practical steps that can make a real difference. If they can’t be done, school leaders should consider closing parts of the schools.

Unite the union has highlighted the intolerable situation of bus drivers working in extreme temperatures because of failing air conditioning systems. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:

Every year bus drivers are left sweltering during heatwaves, risking their own health and that of their passengers. We know that heatwaves are becoming more frequent but this fact seems to take the bus operators by complete surprise every year. Bus firms must stop putting profits before people and act now. This is a problem that is worsening every year and needs urgent attention to keep people safe.

In recent years, the UK has experienced shifts in typical weather patterns. While there is no maximum workplace temperature in the UK, the law mandates that “during working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable.”

UNISON reiterated the TUC’s call for a specific legal maximum temperature for indoor work of 30°C, or 27°C for strenuous work.

Employers must take all reasonable steps to achieve a temperature as close as possible to comfortable (room temperature alone does not indicate thermal comfort, as individual preferences vary)

Health and safety representatives play a crucial role in ensuring workplaces are safe and healthy. They promote better health and safety practices and investigate potential hazards, including those exacerbated by climate change (extreme heat, pollution, UV rays).