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>The union said employers should take steps to cool down workplaces once temperatures exceed 24C, with workers able to stop working if temperatures reach 30C, or 27C for those doing manual labour or working outdoors.
Geneva already has a version of this. You have to stop outside work at 13h00 unless it's necessary, in which case you have to take 45min breaks for every 15 minutes of work. However the threshold isn't 27C but rather like 32C (from what I understand)
So do several countries, as listed here at https://www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/climate-crisis-requires... :
> Belgium: 29°C for light physical workload, 26°C for a moderately heavy physical workload, 22°C at heavy physical workload and 18°C at very heavy physical workload
> Hungary: 31°C for sedentary and light physical work, 29°C for moderately physical work and 27°C for heavy physical work
> Latvia: Maximum working temperature for indoor work of 28°C
> Montenegro: Maximum working temperature for outdoor work of 36°C
> Slovenia: The air temperature in work areas must not exceed 28 °C
(although I don't see any obvious similarities between the countries that do and don't have such protections, but based on that list it does seem that former Yugoslav and Soviet states are overrepresented)
take 45min breaks for every 15 minutes of work
i guess you meant the reverse?
(Slightly) better article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/08/unions-e...
OP's submission seems very UK / TUC centric, also doesn't include something many here are bringing up, that they indeed plan to base it on the wet bulb temperature.
> they indeed plan to base it on the wet bulb temperature
WBGT != wet bulb : There's some nasty confusing terms here - and the Grauniad has also got the link wrong - their reporting has not just gotten more biased it has gotten much worse.
WetBulbGlobeTemp = 0.7WetBulbTemp + 0.2DryTemp + 0.1*BlackPaintTemp
In the shade with still air the WBGT approaches the actual temperature as humidity rises.
If sunny and humid it can be above the actual temperature.
For low-humidity moving air the WBGT might be noticeably cooler on a hot day.
At least that's the best summary I can give from the quick skim I looked at.
It's a crappy confusing 50s model supposed to approximate how warm it feels - needs a local meter to test - see image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-bulb_globe_temperature
I find dry bulb temperature along with humidity are better when I travel, because they are more predictable based on historical data and you get to know what matters and make choices according to context. And more helpful in cool climates where damp cool days are nasty.
Thanks! I've added that link to the toptext.
I wish that society can learn about and apply the concept of a wet bulb temperature.
A dry bulb temperature of 30C contains little information regarding safety. Humans are wet and we cool ourselves with evaporation.
> Unions want enforceable workplace thermal limits, based on the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/08/unions-e...
The submission just doesn't include it, but that seems to be the goal to apply that concept :)
First, weather services would need to report it. None of the ones I've seen do. Most don't even report feels-like temperature, they just report plain temperature... in my city (often windy and humid) it's all but useless, you can need a jacket with 21ºC one day and be comfortable without it with 16ºC the next.
My union is pushing for this, >28 WBGT and people can get out of work.
Anything above 86 F? That's the whole summer. I see this as a negotiating position. They'll probably agree on something closer to 33 C (~90F). They have to. If they do nothing people will literally die. Climate change has consequences.
While they're at it, include schools too. Many school buildings have inadequate ventilation or climate control.
Sweating in >30°C high-CO2 spaces doesn't improve student's learning.
That's an interesting way to investigate how much public policy surrounding schools is actually focused on student education. I think you'd find that there would be significant fear around crime in an environment that already has a heightened risk of riots. For younger students the debate would shift to burden of additional childcare.
That's been a thing for a long time. "Hitzefrei".
In Germany that's already a thing afaik
How countries with wet/hot climate that achieved economic success have solved it?
Because my cynical mind tells me that the only thing it will result in is 1. Extremely low productivity 2. Hiring outside of unions.
Union will push for “union only jobs” and that’s going to result in even less productivity OR robotization of agriculture and construction.
Hiring workers naturally adapted to the work conditions can help. Also providing a constant supply of water bottles
US Military developed the wet bulb index in the 1950s for this purpose and it’s still used today.
I heard about a man that was finishing his work working in a greenhouse. He felt ill and dizzy and tried to go home. Sadly the car was parked in the sun. He entered in the car, fainted and died by heat stroke.
We should implement this in Florida. I wouldn't mind a five month vacation.
It's already somewhat implemented in Florida. OSHA requires employers to protect employees from extreme heat. It doesn't explicitly require air conditioning, but air conditioning is standard practice in Florida so not providing it would open up employers to an OSHA complaint.
For outdoor work, protection from extreme heat generally implies shade, hydration, frequent breaks, et cetera.
Your workplace in Florida has an interior temperature of 86F? This is about temperature in the workplace, not outside temperatures.
Most remotely modern interior spaces in Florida are going to be air conditioned so this is already not a problem in Florida.
Do you have to live & work in un-ac'd buildings?
Cos today in my pokey town, my house is 30°C, my local library 28°C the gym is at least 25°C and the outside 31°C at a dew point of 15°C. Its not Florida but its the UK and there’s no relief.
From the article, it's for "jobs in sectors like agriculture and construction". Would be interesting to learn about how this kind of work is managed in hotter climates.
For office work, a lot of European countries (especially the UK) haven't invested in AC as much as the rest of the world because they haven't needed to. This is especially apparent in housing, where working from home is becoming difficult in these higher temperatures.
I lived in the southern US for a long time. Any office I ever worked in would send everyone home if the AC was broken in the summer.
I was about to make the same comment about Minnesota, but I'd only get a three month vacation.
Vapor compression refrigeration has been mass produced for a century. Add a reversing valve and you have a heat pump. Europe better get started on installs, it’s not going to cool down.
I have a heat pump based water heater installed in the garage. One side benefit is the garage got cooled down. It used to be that the garage got very hot during hot days. Now it’s cool.
What makes you think that this isn't happening?
China ramps up production & shipping to Europe [1] and a quick glance at Google Trends for Germany, UK and France AC install searches are up 5x from last year, and last year was already double or more of the previous years.
In Cyprus that means no work for more than half a year.
That's not going to work in the South. Demand adapted buildings, housing, and AC where applicable.
It's almost constantly above 30°C in the day where I'm at. Instant permanent vacation.
I think this whole heat wave crisis has been shocking to the rest of the world to see that apparently Europeans refuse to install AC even in new-build homes and it is causing enormous numbers of deaths. What is the reason for this? Is it just because it's expensive and energy costs are so high?
It seems like a basic safety requirement that they are refusing to acknowledge and are now apparently just refusing to go to work completely when it gets hot outside.
Are military and japanese only ones working on active cooling workwear?
30C isn't that bad if the humidity is low and you are in shade.
Trees and climbers are the best AC.
99.9% of all mass in the solar system is the Sun, a giant nuclear reactor. No one should ever accept energy conservation.
Turns out in the 21st century the technology that will boost worker productivity in Europe will not be AI, it will be AC.
Living in the south of France outside tourist havens (I had one when renting near St-Tropez), the current situation is that serious AC is considered something for the rich.
Not because AC itself is particularly expensive, but because almost no rental apartment has it because installing AC during the construction is basically forbidden due to green laws (RT 2012) so you need to own.
And owning something decent not in the damn city itself is expensive as fuck these days.
> Under the proposals, employers within the European Union would be legally required to suspend work if temperatures exceeded 30C
That's... uh... the entire summer in most of southern Europe?
I agree with the general intention, but the thresholds probably need to take into account humidity as well (i.e. be based on wet bulb temperatures), and I don't really see how one can apply a one-size-fits-all policy all the way from Greece to Scandinavia...
With or without AC?
30 isn't even that hot. I hope this is just their opening bid.
I find this funny. Temps are always above 30C here during summer.
Seems cheaper to install AC.