Europe ablaze: a warning for the workers of the world

The world’s climate is heating up. Of all the major populated areas in the world, Western Europe is at the forefront of this change because it gets a lot of its weather from the Arctic Ocean, which is heating up very rapidly. The ocean currents that bathe the shores of Western Europe have also warmed up.

Four of the  largest countries in Western Europe — Germany, France, Spain and Italy — have recorded at least 25,000 heat-related deaths so far this summer. Temperatures in these four countries frequently surged past 95°F.

While heat is not often listed on the death certificate,  statistical tools based on excess deaths are widely used to provide a reliable estimate of fatalities where heat was likely a decisive factor.

In France, where the estimated number of heat-related deaths this summer is 9,700, one of its main union confederations — the General Confederation of Workers (CGT) — uses these statistical tools.

Wildfires

Besides the heat-related deaths, Western Europe has had to contend with wildfires that have threatened Madrid, the capital of Spain, and Bordeaux, the sixth-largest city in France.

Some 197,000 people had to be evacuated in southwestern France to escape the fires and 80,000 people in Spain. The areas burned set records, but the only fatalities were four French firefighters. The European Union acted quickly by sending  in planes and helicopters to drop fire retardant.

Union response

The CGT has some general criticisms of the French government’s lackadaisical attitude toward climate change. But to ensure effective protection for all employees, the CGT has made concrete demands applicable across all companies and sectors of activity. In particular:

(1) A reduction in the pace of work during periods of high heat;

(2) Extension of the “inclement weather” unemployment benefit eligibility to cover heat across all sectors;

(3) Preservation and strengthening of the right to withdraw from work (right of refusal) with no possibility of sanctions without the opinion of the Labor Inspectorate;

(4) Systematic investigations following heat-related incidents of faintness or accidents.

Other unions in Western Europe often follow the CGT’s lead on concrete demands.

High heat conditions make it harder and more dangerous for workers to work. They shouldn’t have to risk their lives for a job.