Workplace safety protections must catch up with a transformed world of work and climate science

Ahead of International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) [Tuesday 28 April], Unite has called on the Stormont Executive to introduce legislation to protect workers from health and safety threats resulting severe extreme weather events, which are becoming increasingly common.

Last year, Unite launched the findings of a survey of its members conducted in the aftermath of storm Eowyn. This highlighted widespread unsafe practices by employers and many workers being forced to choose between losing pay or even their jobs and travelling in dangerous conditions to work during a red weather alert.

Unite general Secretary Sharon Graham said, “Stormont must get its finger out and bring forward measures to protect workers in extreme weather. It is simply unacceptable that safety laws don’t take account of extreme weather.”

The union has identified a raft of legal protections for workers including four days paid climate leave, economy-wide weather-alert based response protocols (where red alerts mean all but essential workers stay at home and amber alerts mean no inessential work is done outdoors), upper limits to working temperatures and for employers to be mandated to have extreme weather risk assessments in place.

Susan Fitzgerald, Unite regional secretary, said: “The health and safety legislation here is decades old. It was written at a time when many workers were employed within walking distance of their homes. Today many commute large distances to and from work, but this is not covered by safety protections.

“Extreme weather poses increasing risk to workers – both while in work or when travelling. Stormont cannot delay. We need to see legislation to offer real protections to workers – laws that will allow unions to protect our members in these extreme events.”

ENDS…