A “staggering” number of workers, amounting to more than 70 per cent of the global workforce, is likely to be exposed to climate change-related health hazards, and existing occupational safety and health protections are struggling to keep up with the resulting risks, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Its 28 April 2024 report, Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate – launched to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day – says that climate change is already having a serious impact on the safety and health of workers in all regions of the world.

The ILO estimates that more than 2.4 billion workers – out of a global workforce of 3.4 billion – are likely to be exposed to excessive heat at some point during their work, according to the most recent figures available. When calculated as a share of the global workforce, the proportion has increased from 65.5 per cent in 2000 to 70.9 per cent in 2020.

The report from the UN agency estimates that 18,970 lives and 2.09 million disability-adjusted life years are lost annually due to the 22.87 million occupational injuries attributable to excessive heat.

This is not to mention the 26.2 million people worldwide living with chronic kidney disease linked to workplace heat stress, ILO notes. The condition kills thousands of outdoor workers each year, and has been dubbed one of the first climate change-induced epidemics. More workers in more jobs are affected, from van drivers, to warehouse workers and postal workers, construction workers to farm workers.

The TUC has long recognised the risks and is renewing its campaign for a binding workplace heat standard.

The US is already taking action. On 2 July 2024, the Biden administration’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a proposed standard to protect workers from extreme heat.

The US proposal includes an action limit of 27 degrees Celsius and a trigger for more protective measures still at 30 degrees – based on years of expert deliberation and consultation – and mirrors to the degree the action levels in the TUC’s long-standing demands (see: TUC action call on hot workplaces).  

Liz Shuler, president of the US national union centre AFL-CIO, commented: “Hot and humid conditions have long put indoor and outdoor workers at significant risk of heat-related illness and injury – with workers of colour and immigrant workers facing disproportionate risks in many states. If finalised, this new rule would address some of the most basic needs for workers’ health and safety: water, shade, rest breaks, training and acclimatisation for working in hot environments.”

The ILO report notes that the impact of climate change on workers goes well beyond exposure to excessive heat, creating a “cocktail of hazards”, which result in a range of dangerous health conditions.

For example, more and possibly more hazardous pesticides may be used to protect crops, as pests thrive and increase their range.

The report notes that numerous health conditions in workers have been linked to climate change, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, kidney disfunction and mental health conditions.

The impact includes:

• 1.6 billion workers exposed to UV radiation, with more than 18,960 work-related deaths annually from non-melanoma skin cancer.
• 1.6 billion likely to be exposed to workplace air pollution, resulting in up to 860,000 work-related deaths among outdoor workers annually.
• Over 870 million workers in agriculture, likely to be exposed to pesticides, with more than 300,000 deaths attributed to pesticide poisoning annually.
• 15,000 work-related deaths every year due to exposure to parasitic and vector-borne diseases.

Research published on 10 April 2024 in the Journal of Climate Change and Health projects that the mosquitoes that can carry viruses for dengue, West Nile, Zika and more will expand their territories as climate change worsens, raising risks of infection for humans.

TAKING COVER  The weather may be unpredictable but simple, cheap solutions can protect workers whether the sun up or it is pouring down.

The weather is not just getting hotter, it is getting less predictable.

The firefighters’ union FBU has warned that responses to national emergencies and major incidents in the UK, including wildfires, heatwaves and flooding, have been impeded by a lack of resilience over the past two years.

FBU’s Firefighters’ Manifesto calls for investment to address an emergency response crisis caused by a lack of resources, deregulation and cuts.

Other governments are acting, the ILO report reveals, by revising or creating new legislation, regulations and guidance, and improving climate mitigation strategies in working environments.

“It’s clear that climate change is already creating significant additional health hazards for workers,” said Manal Azzi, occupational safety and health team lead at the ILO.
“It is essential that we heed these warnings. Occupational safety and health considerations must be become part of our climate change responses – both policies and actions.

“Working in safe and healthy environments is recognised as one of the ILO’s fundamental principles and rights at work. We must deliver on that commitment in relation to climate change, just as in every other aspect of work.”

Taking action on unhealthy indoor air at work

A new report warns that the climate crisis is impacting on workers by creating ‘suffocating and deadly’ air inside workplaces.

‘Workers’ guide to action on indoor workplace air pollution’, produced by the union-backed Greener Jobs Alliance and the Trade Union Clean Air Alliance (TUCAN) warns more than 40,000 people a year in the UK will die as a result of air pollution. 

It notes: “This guide shows the main sources of air pollution at work, their effects on health, how they can be eliminated or reduced, who has responsibility for acting to achieve that and making sure action is taken, what the law says (or doesn’t!), and what union safety reps and workers can do to achieve healthier, cleaner air in workplaces.”

The report, which includes detailed guidance on prevention methods and how to win them, adds: “The solutions to air pollution inside workplaces include cutting the use of harmful substances from work activities and in general air supply, eliminating or reducing exposures by enclosure, Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV), better general ventilation and filtration.

“The aim is to reduce exposure to the safest level, which is zero, or if unachievable then the lowest level possible, WHO or other health-based standards. Make the case to your employer that cleaning the air at work leads to better worker health, concentration and productivity, and can save employers’ money by reducing sickness absence, disruption to production or services and can help achieve Net Zero Carbon targets.”

• For more information about Trade Union Clean Air Network (TUCAN) online training sessions, contact Janet Newsham janet@gmhazards.org.uk.

TUC action call on hot workplaces

With temperatures regularly hitting record highs in recent years, the TUC has called on the Labour government to improve protections for workers by bringing in legal maximum working temperatures.

The union body says that working in hot weather can lead to dehydration, rashes, fainting, and – in the most extreme cases – loss of consciousness or death from conditions including heat stroke. It warns that outdoor workers are three times more likely to develop skin cancer.

The TUC says there’s currently no law on maximum working temperatures. However, during working hours the temperature in all indoor workplaces must be ‘reasonable’.
Employers have a duty to keep the temperature at a comfortable level and provide clean and fresh air.

The TUC is calling for a change in the law so that employers must attempt to reduce temperatures if they get above 24 degrees Celsius and workers feel uncomfortable.
The union body would also like ministers to introduce a new absolute maximum indoor temperature, set at 30 degrees (or 27 degrees for those doing strenuous jobs), to indicate when work must stop.

The TUC says Labour’s New Deal will make work safer by referencing extreme temperatures and preventive action. It says this will move Britain closer to standard practice in other countries, like Spain and Germany that have maximum working temperatures enshrined in workers’ rights.

The TUC also wants the government to future-proof workplaces, by investing in our buildings and infrastructure, so that they remain functional during heatwaves.
Adapting to a hotter climate means upgrading our workplaces and homes, our energy, water and transport networks. 

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said “working in sweltering conditions can be unbearable and dangerous – so spare a thought for those in overheated shops, baking offices or toiling outdoors in direct sun.” He added: “Our buildings, infrastructure, and laws were made for a different climate in a different century.

“Extreme heat is becoming the norm and we’re struggling to cope. We need to adapt – and that means improving the law, investing in resilience and delivering climate action.
“The New Deal would keep workers safer by modernising the guidance around excessive working temperature – and finally bringing it into the 21st century.”

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CRISIS POINT

The climate crisis is an occupational safety and health crisis, a new report from the International Labour Organisation has warned. Hazards editor Rory O’Neill looks at the UN agency’s shocking new evidence.