Football players got a water break every 22 minutes to keep them safe during the World Cup.
But builders, fruit pickers and bus drivers are often expected to work for hours in dangerous heat without a break.
That is why there has been a huge increase in the number of heat-related workplace deaths in Europe[1].
People like Ciro Adinolfi, who died of a heart attack in front of his son while working on a construction site in almost 40°C.
Or Jose Antonio Gonzalez, who died after a long shift cleaning the streets in temperatures of more than 40°C.
The lives of these workers, and thousands of others, were cut short because of Europe's dangerous attitude to working in extreme heat.
But bosses are not learning the lessons: research shows[2] that many employers are reluctant to take voluntary measures to keep people safe and refuse to even discuss them with trade unions.
That is why we need a European law on maximum working temperatures.
It would mean that workers have the right to stop work and take a break – without the fear of losing pay or even their job – when it comes too hot to work.
It would mean that employers need to provide water, access to toilets, shade and protective clothing. Basic common-sense but essential measures to keep people safe.
Sign now and tell the European Commission: protect workers with a binding EU law on maximum working temperatures.
The climate is changing and so must our laws.
[1] New heat tragedies call for maximum working temperatures - www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/new-heat-tragedies-call-maximum-working-tem...
[2] Collective bargaining and social dialogue as instruments to protect workers from heatwaves and climate change in the European Union - www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/indhealth/64/1/64_2025-0112/_pdf/-char/en