Grant sweltering workers cooling breaks, unions tell EU

Just like World Cup footballers, European workers should be allowed "cooling breaks" in sweltering summer days, trade unions said Thursday, urging the European Union to take action.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), an umbrella group, said workplace deaths have increased across the EU over the past two decades, as the planet warmed.

"The cooling breaks being used at the World Cup have put the spotlight on the danger posed to workers by extreme heat and the kind of measures that can be taken to keep people safe," ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said.

"Builders, fruit pickers or bus drivers need a lot longer than three minutes to recover, but it is a good example of how work can be adapted to the changing climate."

World's football governing body FIFA has mandated three-minute hydration breaks midway through each half of World Cup matches this year to protect player health at the tournament in North America.

ETUC, which says it represents 45 million workers from 94 trade unions in 42 countries, said the European Commission should work to grant workers a "right to breaks without loss of pay" when temperatures are high.

The risk of workplace accidents was up to seven percent higher when the thermometer climbed above 30 C and up to 15 percent higher with temperatures of 38 C and above, it said. 

The EU sets minimum standards on health and safety at work across its 27 member states, while leaving countries to apply their own detailed rules.

When it comes to heat, the bloc has issued non‑binding guidance encouraging employers to adapt conditions so workers can cool down, including allowing more or flexible breaks, but has not enshrined specific requirements in law.

The trade union call comes as Europe experiences a record-breaking heatwave, with at least 94 million people expected to experience temperatures above 35 C.