121–130 of 146 posts
(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.
That's not going to work in the South. Demand adapted buildings, housing, and AC where applicable.
It's specifically for "jobs in sectors like agriculture and construction", not sure better buildings will help the workers out on fields and construction sites much. Although one temperature threshold probably don't make much sense, a strict 30C across the entire continent would mean massively different things in different countries, in many countries that mean basically the entire summer off, every year.
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.
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…
> 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…
southern europeans have had to deal with the northern cultural view that we're lazy, and modern work culture imported from those countries has virtually ended siesta. well, now it's hot over there too. we can be nice and tell them "see?" or we can be mean and have them live with the consequences of their moral positions. Right now I'm leaning a bit to the later, but it might just be the heat getting to me :P
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take 45min breaks for every 15 minutes of work i guess you meant the reverse?
No, I literally meant that. It's an alternative to not working at all.
if we assume that this is the middle of the day, so i work 2 hours normally, then 4 hours with 45 minute breaks and then another 2 hours normally, i might as well just work 2.5hours normally, take a 3 hour break and then work another 2.5 hours normally.
so no, really, i don't see any benefit in that arrangement.
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It isn't necessarily true. Here (bottom of the sea) it's only hot when the there isn't any clouds, so solar energy that produces the heat is also producing the electricity to run the AC. It's also a misdirection of guilt. It's not the accumulated CO2 from the decades of burning all kinds of shit that is driving the weather, it's your personal AC unit.
You're describing a very new and not-yet-realized state of affairs where large amounts of power comes from solar. In that world, then yeah obviously the initial concern isn't valid.
It's fair to criticize this from the social equality perspective, but there are times when the network is saturated with zero emission electricity.
But then again, should I also not use the electric oven (I don't have the actual gas oven for the same reasons I have ) after dark when it's not windy?
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No, I literally meant that. It's an alternative to not working at all.
is it really an alternative? i'd rather do a 4 hour night shift without breaks than working 8 hours like this in the heat. what am i supposed to do with a 45 minute break? if i am a bricklayer or example, i'd still be stuck on a badly cooled construction site. seems totally not worth it to me. even worse considering that normally breaks are not paid. if we assume that this is the middle of the day, so i work 2 hours…
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.