Southern Europe is grappling with a brutal heatwave this summer, creating a stark divide between air-conditioned comfort and the perilous reality for outdoor workers.
Such labour can be gruelling, even deadly. Last month, a street sweeper in Barcelona died during the extreme heat, and a labour union reports 12 other city cleaners have since suffered heatstroke.
In response, powerful European unions are pushing for tougher regulations to protect the aging workforce from climate change, on what is already the world’s fastest-warming continent.
Hundreds of street cleaners and concerned citizens marched through downtown Barcelona last week to protest the death of Montse Aguilar, a 51-year-old street cleaner who worked even as the city’s temperatures hit a June record.
Fellow street sweeper Antonia Rodríguez said at the protest that blistering summers have made her work “unbearable.”
“I have been doing this job for 23 years and each year the heat is worse,” said Rodríguez, 56. “Something has to be done.”
Extreme heat has fueled more than 1,000 excess deaths in Spain so far in June and July, according to the Carlos III Health Institute.
“Climate change is, above all, playing a role in extreme weather events like the heat waves we are experiencing, and is having a big impact in our country,” said Diana Gómez, who heads the institute’s daily mortality observatory.
Even before the march, Barcelona’s City Hall issued new rules requiring the four companies contracted to clean its streets to give workers uniforms made of breathable material, a hat and sun cream. When temperatures reach 34 C (93 F), street cleaners now must have hourly water breaks and routes that allow time in the shade. Cleaning work will be suspended when temperatures hit 40 C (104 F).
Protesters said none of the clothing changes have been put into effect and workers are punished for allegedly slacking in the heat. They said supervisors would sanction workers when they took breaks or slowed down.
Workers marched behind a banner reading “Extreme Heat Is Also Workplace Violence!” and demanded better summer clothing and more breaks during the sweltering summers. They complained that they have to buy their own water.
FCC Medio Ambiente, the company that employed the deceased worker, declined to comment on the protesters’ complaints. In a previous statement, it offered its condolences to Aguilar’s family and said that it trains its staff to work in hot weather.
In Greece, regulations for outdoor labor such as construction work and food delivery includes mandatory breaks. Employers are also advised — but not mandated — to adjust shifts to keep workers out of the midday sun.
Greece requires heat-safety inspections during hotter months but the country’s largest labor union, the GSEE, is calling for year-round monitoring.
