As Europe swelters through another intense summer, trade unions are intensifying their campaign for new legislation to combat heat stress, which is linked to an estimated 230 workplace deaths annually. The toll this year could be even higher, with the World Health Organization attributing 1,300 excess deaths to the June heatwave, and other estimates reaching 20,000.
Proposed Workplace Thermal Limits
Unions are calling for enforceable workplace thermal limits based on the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), which measures the human body's ability to cool itself. They also demand mandatory job site heat risk assessments. The European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (Effat), representing 15 million workers alongside the European Federation of Public Service Unions and the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers, has drafted a directive text seen by the Guardian.
Enrico Somaglia, Effat's general secretary, stated: “Climate change is no longer a distant environmental challenge, it is a daily occupational health and safety risk, as well as a threat to job stability. The current European legal framework is clearly not sufficient to defend against it.”
Details of the Proposed Law
The draft proposes maximum workplace WBGTs ranging from 30C to 32.5C, depending on work intensity. Beyond these thresholds, work would be suspended. Employers violating the rules would face “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” sanctions. While not a legal document, the draft is gaining support from sympathetic MEPs as the summer of 2026 heats up the political agenda.
In the UK, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) is urging ministers to introduce a maximum working temperature, a demand recently backed by the government's Climate Change Committee. The TUC wants employers to reduce temperatures if they exceed 24C, and grant workers the right to stop work at 30C (or 27C for strenuous jobs).
UK Heat Strike Movement
Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, emphasized: “Indoor workplaces should be kept at comfortable temperatures, with relaxed dress codes and flexible working to make use of the coolest hours of the day. And employers must make sure outdoor workers are protected with regular breaks, lots of fluids, plenty of sunscreen and the right protective clothing.”
The Heat Strike movement, formed after the UK's hottest day in 2022, held a national action in late June with 1,500 participants. Supported by unions such as the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union and the Fire Brigades Union, as well as Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion, activists set up cool stations in town centres from Exeter to York, distributing water and health advice.
Global Context and Political Hurdles
Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average, with up to 130 million workers exposed to workplace heat stress and 277,000 injuries annually, according to the European Trade Union Institute. Maria Ohisalo, a Finnish Green MEP, is backing the union push, stating: “Right now there is no European-wide regulation on protection against workplace heat (or cold) exposure, just a patchwork of mere recommendations. But workers everywhere need the protection that only legally binding and harmonised rules can offer.”
The proposed rules could be included in the European Commission's Quality Jobs Act, promised for this year. However, they face opposition from labour ministers in rightwing EU states who prefer weaker recommendations. The commission did not respond to a request for comment.
