Greece pursuing building techniques without the use of traditional heating methods
In Germany, as temperatures soar, the issue of heat protection in workplaces is gaining increasing attention. While the country has a solid legal foundation for heat protection, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Workplace Ordinance, the lack of a uniform, nationwide maximum workplace temperature remains a concern.
The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) has been advocating for more employer controls to ensure heat protection measures are in place, particularly in high-risk sectors like construction. For construction workers, the DGB demands that work should stop once temperatures reach 33°C outdoors, with compensation for builders during such heat conditions.
However, the Chamber of Crafts of the Palatinate believes that businesses cannot plan for "short-term temperature peaks" with rigid rules like "must take a break between 12 and 17 hours when it's 35 degrees." Instead, they suggest practical measures such as rescheduling intensive activities to cooler times, ensuring hydration, and wearing protective clothing.
The Greek government, on the other hand, has taken a more drastic approach, banning outdoor work during heat waves in many parts of the country between 12 and 17 hours.
The health insurance company IKK now considers intense heat periods a "serious health risk." Over 500 employees in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, and the Saarland have reported sick with heat-related complaints by mid-July this year, compared to around 400 such sick notes in the whole of 2024. Postal and courier workers, construction workers, craftspeople in the construction, civil engineering, and mechanical engineering sectors, and educators have reported the most heat-related sick days so far this year.
The German Medical Association has called for binding heat protection plans, and the President of the State Medical Association of Rhineland-Palatinate, Dr. Günther Matheis, has also urged for such plans. Matheis also emphasizes the need for existing workplace protection to be consistently implemented to prevent heat-related illnesses.
If the temperature in the workplace exceeds 35 degrees, the office is no longer suitable as a workplace, and the employer must provide an alternative. Possible measures for heat protection in the workplace include setting up fans, ventilating at night or in the early morning, installing blinds, loosening the dress code, providing drinks, allowing flexible hours, longer break times, and more.
The DGB in Rhineland-Palatinate does not advocate for a general work stoppage between 12 and 17 hours when it's 35 degrees outdoors, as in Greece. Instead, they suggest that existing rules should be subject to stricter controls and more personnel for relevant authorities such as the occupational safety authority.
Despite the lack of a nationwide maximum workplace temperature, the discussion about establishing binding heat protections more broadly remains ongoing in Germany.
Read also:
- Substantial Interest in Biostimulants Maintained Despite a Significant 86% Decrease in Funding for the Sector
- Mongolian Fossil Reveals Powerful-Handed Avian Dinosaur from Ancient Times
- "Mars' valuable component demanded for return by Niger"
- Enduring the intense heat yet finding solace in an extraordinary videogame? Its price slashed too, imagine that! I'm not shy about telling everyone.
