Scientists are sounding the alarm about temperatures rising around the world. The phenomenon has been given a new name – it is no longer referred to as global warming, but as global boiling. This clearly illustrates the situation our planet finds itself in.

Exposing yourself to heat for long periods of time can cause dehydration, fainting or even death. The figures don't lie: in Poland, more people die from overheating than from drowning. At the same time, this is a very often underestimated issue as society's attitude to covering your head, using sunscreen and hydrating yourself still leaves a lot to be desired.

Are there any regulations regarding working in the heat? Unfortunately not in Poland. An ordinance of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy from 1997 mentions only the lowest permissible working temperature. The regulations state that it must not fall below 18 degrees Celsius for light physical work or office work, and below 14 degrees Celsius in other cases.

The document does not mention working in high temperatures. Climate policy is virtually non-existent to the current government, so it is unlikely that legislators 26 years ago would have taken into account the issue of global warming.

According to the Labour Code (Polish: Kodeks Pracy), a juvenile worker is a person who is at least 15 years of age and has not turned 18 yet. The regulations state that in the case of employing juveniles, the temperature in the room where services are provided must not be higher than 30 degrees Celsius, and the relative humidity of the air greater than 65%.

The issue of juvenile work during hot weather is regulated by the 2004 Council of Ministers Ordinance.

Oko.press points out that there are also no rules regulating the work of pregnant women during hot weather. The regulations only mention the prohibition of working "in conditions in which the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote, thermal comfort or satisfaction with the thermal environment) value determined in accordance with the Polish Standard is greater than 1.5".

PMV is an index that aims to predict the mean value of votes of a group of occupants on a seven-point thermal sensation scale, namely:

• hot (+3)
• warm (+2)
• slightly warm (+1)
• neutral (0)
• slightly cool (-1)
• cool (-2)
• cold (-3)

Thermal comfort varies between -0.5 and +0.5. Pregnant women are not allowed to work if the PMV in the room exceeds 1.5 either on the negative or positive side.

Oko.press points out that even though such regulation exists, it is most likely dead as calculating the PMV value is quite complicated. In order to do so you need to take into account such values as: body mobility, relative humidity (partial pressure of the water vapor in the air to the saturation pressure of water vapor at the same temperature), the ratio of covered to uncovered body surface area, or convective heat transfer, among others.

One of the employer's obligations in hot weather is to ensure that employees have unrestricted access to refreshments. This applies to those working outside when the temperature exceeds 25 degrees Celsius and those working indoors when the temperature reach 28 degrees Celsius.

The employer may fulfil the obligation in any way it wishes, e.g. by erecting a dispenser with publicly available drinking water or by distributing bottled water. It cannot pay employees a cash equivalent for not having access to drinks.

The employer may also (but does not have to) install air conditioning. He or she must then take care of it, clean it regularly and disinfect it.

Working in the heat is the second biggest problem after non-payment of wages, says the National Labour Inspectorate.

The All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (Polish: Ogólnopolskie Porozumienie Związków Zawodowych, OPZZ) has already taken steps to regulate work in hot weather. The proposal of the OPZZ is to establish a maximum temperature at the workplace (30 degrees Celsius) and the rights of the employee and the obligations of the employer.

The OPZZ is expected to develop trade union recommendations regarding the regulation of maximum temperatures in the workplace soon.

Source: oko.press