Heat stress can immediately impact workers on the job, leading to illnesses such as heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and even death. In the longer term, workers can develop serious and debilitating …
SEWA India provides members with heat wave insurance
SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) which organizes women workers in the informal sector, including home-based workers in the garment industry and workers engaged in the downstream shipbreaking industry, launched a …
OSHA proposes rule to protect workers exposed to extreme heat
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed a rule Tuesday outlining steps employers must take to protect indoor and outdoor workers from the risk of heat illness, the first major …
Climate gets a seat in Chicago teachers’ talks
Teachers in Chicago are using their powerful union to fight for climate action in city schools. The Chicago Teachers Union opened public contract negotiations with the city today, demanding electric …
A Matter of Survival as South Asia’s Heat Wave Reaches 127 Degrees
Pakistan and India are sweltering. For laborers, not working because of the extreme temperatures can mean not eating. As South Asia bakes under a blistering heat wave, life-or-death decisions arrive …
What the Scorching Summer Does to Delhi’s Informal Workers
All informal workers face climate change and it impacts their livelihood – reduced income as well as reduced hours of work. Workers talk about fatigue and dehydration, excessive sweating, and …
Phoenix passes landmark rule requiring heat protection for outdoor workers
Phoenix, Arizona, passed a landmark rule this week that will provide protections from extreme heat for thousands of outdoor workers in the hottest US city. In a unanimous 7-0 vote, …
Are there workers’ environmental rights in EU law?
Over recent decades, we have seen an increase in academic exploration of the interactions between workers and the environment, including the emergence of new fields such as environmental labour studies. Labour lawyers have …
International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network
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Heat stress at work—a political emergency
In 2022, 61,000 deaths in the European Union were attributed to summer heat. Likely an underestimate, this is only one of many indicators of the growing and unavoidable challenge posed by the impacts of climate …