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Bakers’ union demands time off in ‘extreme temperatures’

Workers also want a ‘heatwave furlough scheme and climate action plan’

All employees should have the right to stop working under a national maximum temperature for workplaces, a major union has told Sir Keir Starmer.
Under the proposals, outlined by the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), employers would have to ensure temperatures did not exceed 27 degrees for strenuous work or 30 degrees for sedentary work.
It also wants a “heatwave furlough scheme” where workers are guaranteed they are paid the same if production has to stop because of excessive temperatures.
The union, which has 60,000 members, said it could be the employers themselves who fund wages for these periods where work is not taking place owing to the heat. But under the proposals, if bosses say they cannot afford furlough, the Government could step in.
“It’s not workers’ fault that we are suffering these extreme temperatures,” a spokesman for the union said. “If employers won’t take measures to deal with this, it could be that action has to be considered.”
The plan for maximum temperatures would mean that employers would have to ensure that  fans were installed to keep the heat down.
Other changes could include extra breaks, changing shift patterns to avoid the hottest times of day, and the provision of sun lotion.
The plan has been put forward in a motion on climate change and workers’ health at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) next month.
Labour receives much of its funding from the unions, and the Conservatives claim that for this reason they may be forced to agree to union demands for workplace reforms.
The BFAWU disaffiliated from the Labour Party in 2021 following the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn and so no longer gives money to the party.
Sir Keir has pledged to scrap all anti-union laws brought in since 2010, but unions are putting him under pressure to repeal those brought in by Margaret Thatcher.
The motion, by BFAWU, said the “climate crisis is a trade union issue”.
“Congress agrees to campaign for the following: set a national maximum working temperature, put in place a heatwave furlough scheme, and make a climate action plan.”
A spokesman for the union said that in previous years, some workplaces have had to stop production after temperatures reached 40 degrees, and have told employees to take the days off as holiday or unpaid leave.
The union’s position is that employers should ensure that people are paid the full amount when they cannot work for a reason – such as heat – which is out of their control.
“Loss of earnings in such cases is not the fault of working people,” the spokesman said. “Employers should make up the difference, and if not the Government could help.”
This would make it similar to the Covid furlough scheme, where the Treasury paid 80 per cent of someone’s wages when they had been laid off.
The union also calls on other TUC members to join it in a “heat strike” next summer when the temperatures exceed 36 degrees.
“Congress welcomes the idea of organising a heat strike as joint days of action between workers, trade unions and climate justice groups using the youth climate strikes model,” the motion stated.
“The heat strike is not a legal union strike but can take many forms by workers and citizens including direct actions, protests, workplace lunchtime walkouts, awareness raising, lobbying of politicians or community actions.”

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