Unite "extreme weather" call

Time to climate-proof health and safety laws

Unite in Northern Ireland has called on Stormont to protect workers during ‘Extreme Weather’ events.

The call went out on International Workers’ Memorial Day following Unite releasing the results of a survey today (Monday 28 April) conducted after Storm Eowyn.

The survey of members was carried out by the union together with a set of policy proposals to protect workers from the impact of extreme weather.  

Since the 2018 death of Unite member Matthew Campbell, who was killed while working during Storm Ali, Unite has had a series of meetings with Stormont departments around the need to protect workers from the impact of extreme weather. 

The Northern Ireland minister for the economy has committed to holding a ‘round table’ to address these issues, and Unite’s survey results and policy proposals will feed into that.

1,225 Unite members from across Northern Ireland responded to our survey, and the findings include:

59 per cent of those whose work included outdoor responsibilities still had to perform them on the day of the storm;

Of these, only 23 per cent said they felt safe and 66 per cent said they did not consider their employer had taken all reasonable precautions;

Of those whose employer did not require them to work on the day of the storm, over half had to take the day as annual leave, unpaid leave, flexitime, sick leave or time-off-in-lieu,(TOIL) or holiday.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our survey exposes that many workers felt unsafe working and travelling during Storm Eowyn, while some employers even attempted to shift the financial cost of closure onto workers by insisting, they take a day’s leave.

“On International Workers’ Memorial Day, we are demanding that the government climate-proof health and safety laws to ensure that workers’ lives and incomes are protected during extreme weather.”

Unite is engaging with government departments and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland seeking a package of ‘Extreme Weather’ measure to protect workers from the impact of such events.  

As well as statutory maximum working temperatures, Unite’s proposals include an obligation on employers to conduct risk assessments during extreme weather events, cease all routine outdoor work during orange alerts and cease all non-essential work (whether indoor or outdoor) during red alerts, with workers continuing to be paid during such closures.

The union is also proposing four days’ paid climate leave, along the lines of that introduced in Spain following last year’s devastating Valencia floods, if conditions render travel hazardous or workers need to address pressing domestic needs resulting from extreme weather.  A summary of Unite’s survey results and policy proposals is available here.

Unite regional secretary Susan Fitzgerald said: “Accelerating climate change means that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather are set to increase.  Workers must not be made to pay the price – in terms of their safety, health and livelihoods – for a climate crisis not of their making”.

By Keith Hatch