Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Finally the summer appears to have arrived, but hot weather makes working conditions difficult for too many. This week, yellow heat health alerts are in place for most of England, as daytime temperatures look set to reach 30C. We want workers to know that employers are expected to take reasonable steps to deal with uncomfortably high temperatures.
 
“We welcome that Labour has committed to tackling heat stress at work in their new deal for workers, something Usdaw has long campaigned for. We can only secure this and many other improvements for workers by voting for change on 4 July, and the only party offering the change our members desperately need is Labour.”
 
Labour’s new deal for workers - safer workplaces:
“Labour recognises that in a number of sectors working temperatures are regularly unacceptably high, including for those working in strenuous and sedentary jobs, causing serious health and safety concerns. Labour will commit to modernising health and safety guidance with reference to extreme temperatures, preventative action and steps to ensure safety at work.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
 
Keep Your Cool Tackling Heat Stress at Work (Leaflet 291): https://www.usdaw.org.uk/291
 
Labour’s plan to make work pay, delivering a new deal for working people:
https://labour.org.uk/updates/stories/a-new-deal-for-working-people
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion