On the effect of extreme temperatures in the workplace on workers’ health and safety

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

(2026/2140(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Article 3(1) and (3) of the Treaty on European Union,

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 145, 146, 151, 153(1), points (a) and (b), and 156 thereof,

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

– having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights and the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan,

– having regard to the Porto declaration of 8 May 2021,

– having regard to the renewed commitments made during the 2023 Porto Social Forum,

– having regard to the La Hulpe Declaration of 16 April 2024,

– having regard to the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), including the 1981 Occupational Safety and Health Convention (No 155), the 1988 Safety and Health in Construction Convention (No 187), and the 2006 Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention,

– having regard to the ILO conclusions of 24 April 2026, adopted at the Meeting of Experts on Occupational Safety and Health in Extreme Weather Events and Changing Weather Patterns,

– having regard to the 2024 report by Flouris, A., Azzi, M., Graczyk, H., Nafradi, B. and Scott, N., entitled ‘Heat at Work: Implications for Safety and Health – A Global Review of the Science, Policy and Practice’1,

– having regard to the ILO report of 1 July 2019 entitled ‘Working on a warmer planet: The impact of heat stress on labour productivity and decent work’2,

– having regard to the ILO report of 22 April 2024 entitled ‘Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate’3,

– having regard to the report by the World Health Organization and World Meteorological Organization of 22 August 2025 entitled ‘Climate change and workplace heat stress: technical report and guidance’4,

– having regard to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular target 8.8 thereof entitled ‘Protect labour rights and promote safe working environments’,

– having regard to the UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat, published in July 2024 and updated in 2026,

– having regard to the European Social Charter, adopted in Turin in 1961,

– having regard to the report by Enrico Letta of 17 April 2024 entitled ‘Much more than a Market – Speed, Security, Solidarity: Empowering the single market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens’,

– having regard to the State of the Union address of 16 September 2026 by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 28 June 2021 entitled ‘EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027 – Occupational safety and health in a changing world of work’ (COM(2021)0323),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 4 December 2025 entitled ‘Quality Jobs Roadmap’ (COM (2025)0944),

– having regard to the opinion of the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health of 10 December 2025 entitled ‘Climate change – heat at work’,

– having regard to Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work5,

– having regard to Council Directive 89/654/EEC of 30 November 1989 concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the workplace (first individual directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)6,

– having regard to the Council conclusions of 24 October 2019 entitled ‘The Economy of Wellbeing’,

– having regard to the 2011 publication by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion entitled ‘Non-binding guide to good practice for understanding and implementing Directive 92/57/EEC on the implementation of minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile construction sites’,

– having regard to Working Papers No. 1828 by the Economics Department of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) of 12 December 2024 entitled ‘The heat is on: Heat stress, productivity and adaptation among firms’7,

– having regard to the OECD policy brief of 27 August 2024 entitled ‘Feeling the heat – Working under increasing temperatures’,

– having regard to its resolution of 16 February 2022 on strengthening Europe in the fight against cancer – towards a comprehensive and coordinated strategy8,

– having regard to its resolution of 10 March 2022 on a new EU strategic framework on health and safety at work post 2020 (including better protection of workers from exposure to harmful substances, stress at work and repetitive motion injuries)9,

– having regard to its resolution of 12 February 2026 on addressing subcontracting chains and the role of intermediaries in order to protect workers’ rights10,

– having regard to its resolution of 6 October 2026 with recommendations to the Commission on psychosocial risks, stress and mental health at work11,

– having regard to the study requested by Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs entitled ‘The effects of extreme weather conditions on workers’ health and safety’, published by its Directorate-General for Cohesion, Agriculture and Social Policies, November 202512,

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 20 October 2021 entitled ‘Health and safety at work’,

– having regard to the project by Climate-ADAPT on Occupational Heat Stress, Adaptation and Prevention Policies (Worklimate 2.0),

– having regard to the European Working Conditions Survey 2024 by Eurofound,

– having regard to the report by Eurofound of 30 June 2024 entitled ‘Job quality side of climate change’13,

– having regard to the guide by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) of 15 May 2023 entitled ‘Heat at work – EU guidance for workplaces’,

– having regard to the Fourth European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER 2024) by EU-OSHA,

– having regard to the EU-OSHA discussion paper entitled ‘New technologies and prevention of occupational risks related to climate change: the case of heat’, published in 2026,

– having regard to the 2026 report by Marouane Laabbas-el-Guennouni and Andreas D. Flouris entitled ‘Climate change and workers’ health: protecting workers against heat and other climate-related hazards’14, and to the annex thereto entitled ‘A proposal for a Directive on Workplace Heat Stress’,

– having regard to the briefing by its Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (EPRS) of September 2026 entitled ‘European integrated framework for climate resilience’,

– having regard to the handbook by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety of June 2023 entitled ‘Climate Change: Workplace Impacts’,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A10-0000/2026),

A. whereas the climate crisis and loss of biodiversity is making weather hazards more frequent, intense and prolonged; whereas Europe is the fastest-warming continent;

B. whereas work-related accidents and illnesses cost the EU economy around EUR 476 billion a year15; whereas the economic implications of climate-related occupational safety and health (OSH) risks, while substantial, are not yet properly measured;

C. whereas between 1980 and 2024, economic losses due to weather- and climate-related extremes amounted to an estimated EUR 822 billion in the EU16; whereas heatwaves entail large economic costs, especially through loss of productivity, which is estimated to cost the EU approximately EUR 17 billion annually by 203017;

D. whereas 130 million workers in Europe are exposed to workplace heat stress each year, which is linked to around 277 000 injuries and 230 deaths annually18;

E. whereas heat stress at the workplace causes exhaustion, heatstroke and cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney diseases, and impairs concentration and judgement, increasing the risk of workplace accidents;

F. whereas extreme cold also endangers workers’ health and safety, notably in outdoor and refrigerated work;

G. whereas outdoor workers and indoor workers in poorly ventilated and cooled-down premises are particularly exposed; whereas some categories of workers are especially vulnerable and require specific attention, such as female workers, chronically ill and older workers, and workers with disabilities;

H. whereas heatwaves directly affect workers in the emergency and care sectors;

I. whereas current EU laws, such as Directive 89/654/EEC, do not set any minimum or maximum temperature or heat stress limits or binding heat-protection measures;

J. whereas national rules to protect workers and businesses vary widely;

K. whereas social dialogue and worker participation is essential for adapting workplaces to climate change;

Climate impacts on the EU’s economy and the world of work

1. Warns that climate impacts are fundamentally reshaping the world of work, turning heat and cold stress and extreme weather into structural occupational hazards and undermining workers’ rights to healthy, safe and dignified working conditions, and therefore require specific attention at EU level;

2. Stresses that the consequences of the climate crisis deepen existing social inequalities;

3. Recalls that physical heat impacts can include cramp, oedema, loss of consciousness and death, and that long-term exposure can cause heart, kidney and liver damage; warns that exposure to heat at work can also have negative long-term effects such as chronic tiredness, sleep disturbances and temporary infertility for workers19;

4. Notes that extreme weather also has psychosocial impacts such as reduced vigilance – which increases the risk of accidents at work – as well as causing uncertainty regarding job prospects and uncertainty for business owners regarding the delivery of services and productivity, and potentially causing civil unrest;

5. Insists that heatwaves can have significant labour market consequences, slowing production or delivery of services, increasing absence and interrupting economic activity and therefore directly damaging European competitiveness; recalls that EU funds should be used effectively to adapt to climate-related risks and, at the same time, positively contribute to OSH actions;

6. Recalls the indirect socio-economic impacts and cascading effects of weather hazards, such as closure or reduced operation of schools, childcare facilities and other care services; calls for the Member States to increase, as a priority, public investment in shading, insulation, ventilation and efficient air conditioning of schools and care facilities;

Most affected sectors and vulnerable groups of workers

7. Emphasises the impact of extreme temperatures on the healthcare sector, leading to an increased need for care, while also affecting the working conditions of the workforce in healthcare; calls on the Member States to properly enforce the framework directive for occupational safety and health and to invest in the resilience of the healthcare sector, including by urgently addressing workforce shortages;

8. Notes that the workers most impacted by extreme temperatures are outdoor workers in sectors such as agriculture, construction, transport, forestry and fishery, and emergency services, but also in cleaning and maintenance work and platform workers facing direct exposure to sun, heat and cold; emphasises the need to close the current legal loophole at EU level to address the risks faced by workers currently excluded from the scope of some EU directives; insists on the importance of nature-based solutions such as public green spaces accessible to all, as well as cooling centres; stresses, furthermore, the serious risks indoor workers can face when working in inefficient and poorly ventilated and cooled buildings; insists that the Member States urgently renovate public buildings and social housing in order to protect both workers and vulnerable groups;

9. Insists that the most affected sectors tend to employ precarious workers such as seasonal, migrant, undocumented and self-employed workers who face additional challenges; demands that protective measures treat all workers equitably and insists on the importance of targeted intervention for these workers; regrets that some workers, such as domestic workers, remain excluded from the scope of OSH Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, and believes that the situation of these workers requires specific attention;

10. Stresses the importance of ensuring decent living and housing conditions, whenever provided by the employer, such as in the agricultural sector; calls on the Member States to ensure the full enforcement of the adequate accommodation requirements of the Seasonal Workers Directive (2014/36/EU)20;

11. Notes that women are at higher risk from rising temperatures on account of biological factors, socio-economic pressures and gender norms; insists on the importance of gender-sensitive research and data to ensure targeted efforts to effectively protect female workers;

12. Recognises the remarkable work performed by emergency workers and firefighters across Europe; calls on the Member States to ensure sufficient personnel to manage operations, rotations and recovery periods, and to strengthen volunteering in emergency response;

Current and future OSH-related measures at EU level

13. Emphasises that focusing solely on measures to adapt to climate change amounts to shifting the burden of managing its consequences onto employees and employers without tackling the root causes of the problem; fears that, without ambitious mitigation measures, preparedness and adaptation measures will become increasingly costly and ineffective in the long run;

14. Welcomes the fact that the Advisory Committee on Safety and Health agreed that heat is a serious issue that should be addressed, recognising the gap in EU legislation in this area;

15. Acknowledges that new technologies can play an important role in preventing risks; warns, however, that they will only be effective if integrated into comprehensive OSH risk prevention plans and that they can under no circumstances replace organisational and operational adjustments;

16. Underlines that EU legislation needs to be strengthened to ensure adequate harmonisation of protection across all Member States;

17. Acknowledges that Directive 89/391/EEC already sets general obligations for employers to assess and prevent climate-related risks, but that it contains no provisions specific to heat, extreme weather or other climate hazards; notes that some Member States have adopted national heat-specific rules or work-stoppage compensation schemes, resulting in uneven protection of workers across the internal market, which poses a risk for competitiveness;

18. Notes that natural and artificial ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is classified as carcinogenic to humans, with long-term high UVR exposure leading to an increased risk of developing skin cancer; stresses that occupational skin cancer is still excluded from the EU occupational safety and health framework; calls on the Commission to amend Directive 2006/25/EC21, so that it covers occupational exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation, and to recognise occupational skin cancer from solar UV as an occupational disease;

19. Recalls that labour inspectorates differ greatly in capacity across Member States and that climate-related incidents are often not recorded as occupational accidents or diseases, leading to systematic under-reporting; calls on the Commission, Eurostat and the Member States to improve the systematic collection of data on the impact of heatwaves and other weather hazards on workers’ health and safety;

20. Stresses the importance of strengthening social dialogue in OSH adaptation; acknowledges the importance of collective bargaining and the role that trade unions play in ensuring that climate measures are implemented and that workers have meaningful input into risk assessment and prevention measures;

21. Calls on the Member States to close the gaps in social protection coverage by establishing or extending compensation schemes for workers who temporarily lose work and/or income due to extreme weather events;

22. Stresses that OSH policy must move from reactive heatwave responses to integrated, preventive frameworks and must also address exposure, work organisation, and social protection and compensation, as well as financial support, so that the costs of adaptation are not passed on to workers;

23. Calls, therefore, on the Commission to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of workers from extreme temperatures and occupational heat stress, setting science-based thresholds on the basis of an internationally recognised heat stress index, such as the wet-bulb globe temperature and relevant cold stress indicators, and including mandatory risk assessments;

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24. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.