International Workers’ Memorial Day 2026: The climate crisis is a workers’ crisis
Heat deaths are not accidents they are failures of policy.
Brussels, 28 April 2026 : On International Workers’ Memorial Day, EFFAT joins the global labour movement in remembering workers who have lost their lives at work. This year, as we honour those we have lost, EFFAT demands urgent EU action to protect workers from extreme heat.
Another summer is coming. And we’re sure about one thing: it won’t be cooler.
Every year, extreme heat is killing workers:
- In 2020, 29% of European workers were exposed to excessive heat.
- Europe is the region with the most rapidly increasing workforce exposure to excessive heat
- 47% of workers feel too hot at work, but only 15% report protective action is taken[1]
- When temperatures exceed 30°C, workplace accidents increase by 5-7%[2]
Last summer, a farm worker died in Spain harvesting fruit at 40°C. A warehouse worker in France died when his body temperature reached 42.9°C.
Their deaths were preventable
For workers in agriculture, food processing, hospitality, and domestic work, extreme heat is not abstract: it is a daily threat that destroys lives and livelihoods. By 2030, working hours in agriculture will go down 60% globally due to heat, with Eastern Europe the hardest-hit region in Europe[3].
Voluntary measures are failing and will not stop heat waves
While the European Commission and EU-OSHA issued guidance in 2023, research shows employers demonstrate “reluctance to adopt preventive measures.” Workers continue to fall ill, suffer accidents, and die. High levels of precarious and undeclared work in agriculture and hospitality discourage workers from reporting heat stress, as they fear job loss or retaliation.
EFFAT’s Demands
EFFAT stands with the ETUC in demanding binding EU legislation on maximum working temperatures as part of the Quality Jobs Act and the Climate Adaptation Plan, including:
✅ Maximum working temperature limits
✅ The right to stop work when health is at risk
✅ Mandatory heat risk assessments using advanced indicators
✅ Stronger protections: changes in work organization, acclimatization, hydration
✅ Recognition of climate change and other extreme weather events as an occupational risk with income compensation for working hours lost
Enrico Somaglia, EFFAT General Secretary on Workers Memorial Day said: “Climate change is a reality and a major occupational risk. Every summer, workers pay the price of extreme heat with their health, and too often with their lives. These are not unavoidable tragedies; they are the result of political inaction. The EU must act now to guarantee safe working temperatures for all. Heat protection is a fundamental right, not a privilege”.
[1] Overheated and underprepared: Europeans’ experience of living with climate change | Publications | European Environment Agency (EEA)
[2] Heatwaves as an occupational hazard The impact of heat and heatwaves on workers’ health, safety and wellbeing and on social inequalities-2021.pdf
[3] Working on a warmer planet: The impact of heat stress on labour productivity and decent work
