According to the organization, many employees experience the health consequences of the more common and more intense heat waves. Half of the world’s population would already suffer from the adverse consequences.
Protect against extreme heat ‘necessity’
According to the report, the productivity of employees falls two to three percent for each degree above twenty degrees. “Protecting employees against extreme heat is not only a health issue, but also an economic necessity,” says Ko Barrett, deputy Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) about that.
Especially manual workers in sectors such as agriculture, construction and fishing are at risk, but also vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly in developing countries. Employees run the risk of heat stroke, dehydration, kidney problems and neurological disorders.
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Maximum temperature
The organizations call for the development of heat action plans, tailor -made by region and sectors, in collaboration with employees, employers, trade unions and health experts.
One of the measures could be to set a maximum temperature for work. The organizations also insist on better training from care providers and emergency services, because heat stress is often incorrectly diagnosed.
In the Netherlands, the FNV trade union argued earlier for the mandatory introduction of a heat plan. The trade union is also in favor of standards in the law that prevent the body temperature from rising above 38 degrees. In addition, various weather conditions and the gravity of the work are also taken into account.
Accidents
The International Labor Organization (ILO) recently found that more than 2.4 billion employees are exposed to excessive heat worldwide, which leads to more than 22.85 million industrial accidents every year.
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“Nobody should run the risk of kidney failure or collapse, just to earn an income,” responds Rüdiger Krech, acting director of environment, climate change and health at the WHO.