Union proposes maximum working temperature and four days of ‘climate leave’

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

A statutory maximum working temperature is among extreme-weather proposals being put forward by a union.

Unite is seeking a meeting with Enterprise Minister Peter Burke to discuss its proposals, which also include four days’ paid “climate leave” if conditions render travel hazardous or workers need to address pressing domestic needs resulting from extreme weather.

The union says a maximum working temperature should be set depending on the type of work and the working environment.

It wants obligations on employers to attempt to reduce high temperatures.

It called for an action level of 24C where heat management controls/systems must be put in place and an absolute maximum temperature of 30C – or 27C for “strenuous jobs” – at which work should stop if these cannot be prevented by using engineering controls.

The proposals also include an obligation on employers to conduct risk assessments during extreme weather events, the cessation of all routine outdoor work during orange weather alerts and cessation of all non-essential indoor and outdoor work during red alerts – with workers continuing to be paid during such closures.

Unite’s Irish secretary Susan Fitzgerald said: “Accelerating climate change means that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are set to increase.

“Workers must not be made to pay the price – in terms of their safety, health and livelihoods – for a climate crisis not of their making”.

Unite has released the results of a survey of its members to coincide with international workers’ memorial day on Monday.

The survey, carried out following Storm Eowyn, found 55 per cent of respondents did not feel safe travelling to and from work during the storm

Of those who had to work outdoors on the day of the storm, more than half of the respondents did not feel their employer had taken all reasonable precautions to make work safe.

Of those whose employer did not require them to work on the day of the storm, nearly a third had to take the day as annual leave, unpaid leave, flexitime, sick leave or time-off-in-lieu (TOIL).

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our survey exposes that many workers felt unsafe working and travelling during Storm Eowyn, while some employers even attempted to shift the financial cost of closure onto workers by insisting they take a day’s leave.

“On international workers’ memorial day, we are demanding that the government climate-proof health and safety laws to ensure that workers’ lives and incomes are protected during extreme weather.”