CESI welcomes European Parliament draft report on extreme temperatures at work

The draft report, prepared by rapporteur Maria Ohisalo, calls for an EU directive on protecting workers from extreme temperatures and occupational heat stress, with science-based thresholds and mandatory risk assessments. For CESI, this is a positive and necessary step towards binding protection across Member States.

Several priorities raised by CESI are reflected in the draft. These include protection for outdoor and indoor workers, investment in public buildings, action on health care workforce shortages, and a recognition of the consequences of school and childcare closures for parents’ employment. CESI also welcomes the emphasis on social dialogue, collective bargaining and ensuring that adaptation costs are not passed on to workers.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “This draft report provides a strong basis for European action. Workers need clear guarantees that protecting their health will not cost them their income and health. Public services also need sufficient staff and investment to remain safe during heatwaves. We encourage Parliament to strengthen these practical safeguards further as it develops its position during the next weeks.”

CESI proposes to amend a strong draft report on specific poins.

• CESI suggests to make coverage even more explicit for public services and services of general interest, including postal services and parcel deliveries. Mobile workplaces, such as vehicle cabs and control rooms, should also be covered.
• According to CESI, the report should also emphasise further that hospitals, transport operators, schools, childcare facilities and public administrations need safe staffing and funded continuity plans for extreme temperature events. Protecting these workplaces also protects patients, passengers, children and other service users.
• The draft also should further specify safeguards for older workers and workers with chronic health conditions. Gender-responsive risk assessments and properly fitting protective equipment are equally necessary for women, including pregnant workers.
• CESI appreciates that firefighters and emergency personnel are explicitly mentioned in the draft report, and proposes to further specificy their need for suitable protective equipment, cooling and hydration measures, and medical and psychological support. CESI stresses that volunteering and European or cross-border assistance must supplement adequately resourced national services and sufficient permanent personnel - but professional firefighting and emergency services should not need to depend on them.
• The draft’s call for compensation schemes for affected workers is welcome. However, workers must also be expressly able to stop dangerous work or leave a dangerous area without disadvantage or retaliation. Required preventive breaks and work stoppages must carry a guarantee of full pay. Protective measures must not lead to unpaid leave, wage deductions or discriminatory treatment. This should be spelled out even more clearly in the report.
• CESI also proposes making clearer what exposure thresholds should achieve. Assessments must consider workload, exposure duration, humidity, radiation, air movement, protective clothing and individual vulnerability. Thresholds should be established through expert assessment and social partner consultation, reviewed regularly, and linked to defined measures, from workload adjustments and paid recovery breaks to reassignment and suspension of unsafe tasks.
• CESI also stresses that effective implementation requires labour inspectorates with sufficient powers, specialist training and resources to order corrective measures or stop unsafe work, backed by dissuasive sanctions. Employers should record heat-related illness, accidents, near-misses and service interruptions with worker representatives.

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