Newly-launched global campaign tackles the impact of heat stress on workers worldwide

FORTALEZA, Brazil (ILO News) — The United States of America and Brazil, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and through the Partnership for Workers’ Rights (PWR), has launched a global campaign to protect workers from excessive heat stress.

Led by Brazil's Ministry of Labour and Employment (MTE), the U.S. Department of Labour (USDOL), and the ILO, the PWR campaign aims to build partnerships, foster social dialogue, conduct research, raise awareness and enhance international cooperation to safeguard workers from the impact of rising temperatures worldwide.

“I congratulate the governments of Brazil and the United States for taking this initiative, which the ILO fully supports. This campaign, as part of the Partnership for Workers’ Rights, provides an excellent opportunity to expand multilateral collaboration on the effects of heat on workers, helping protect them so they can be safe and their work can be productive and effective,” said Celeste Drake, ILO Deputy Director-General.

“The ILO has a role to play in offering additional research, technical expertise, and advice on what is important when it comes to protecting workers in the workplace. Heat stress is taking a heavy and dangerous toll on billions of workers worldwide. Social dialogue is critical to our work in this area. Only by coming together can workers' organizations and employers’ organizations offer practical, workable solutions for keeping workers safe.”

"Heat stress is taking a heavy and dangerous toll on billions of workers worldwide." Celeste Drake, ILO Deputy Director-General

Thea Lee, USDOL Deputy Secretary for International Affairs; Joaquim Pintado Nunes, ILO Occupational Safety and Health branch chief; and Victor Pellegrini, a researcher at MTE’s Fundacentro, and representatives from employers' and workers' organizations, participated in the campaign launch, which was held on 22 July, the eve of the fifth and final technical meeting of the G20 Employment Working Group (EWG), which began on 22 July.

Recent findings by the ILO indicate that more than 2.4 billion workers out of a global workforce of 3.4 billion are likely to experience excessive heat during their work. This proportion has increased from 65.5 per cent to 70.9 per cent since 2000.

Additionally, the ILO estimates that excessive heat contributes to 22.87 million occupational injuries annually, resulting in 18,970 deaths and 2.09 million disability-adjusted life years lost.

The campaign launch concluded a day-long Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Network Annual Meeting in Fortaleza, during which OSH experts discussed strategies to mitigate the effects of extreme heat on workers' health. Under Brazil’s G20 presidency, one of the main focuses of the G20’s EWG is ensuring a just transition in the context of digital and energy transformations.