THE Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) has launched a campaign calling for a maximum working temperature in the UK.
Bakeries are under pressure to do more to reduce workplace temperatures under the Cool It! campaign, which is also supported by the TUC.
The BFAWU has put forward an Early Day Motion (EDM), sponsored by Labour MP John McDonnell, calling for legislation to introduce a maximum working temperature of around 30°C and 27°C for those doing strenuous work.
Ronnie Draper, BFAWU general secretary, said: 'Working in extremes of heat has blighted the lives of millions of workers for hundreds of years. It is not unique to the baking industry: indeed, it is major problem in classrooms; on trains, in foundries; and in many other workplace environments. No study has ever been undertaken into the long-term effects of working with high temperatures, nor into the contributory factor that working in heat has on work-place accidents or occupational ill-health. We call upon Members of parliament to lay down a maximum working temperature that triggers control measures, and introduces a level of consistent protection never previously seen in British industry.'
The EDM has reportedly won the support of 32 MPs according to
British Baker. BFAWU National president Ian Hodson told the magazine that some of his members had been forced to work in temperatures as high as 45°C, with temperatures of between 36-38°C commonplace. He said: 'This is an issue for bakeries of all sizes right up to the big plant bakers,' he said. 'While modern bakeries have technology, such as air conditioning, to regulate temperatures, in long-standing workplaces, there has not been enough investment.'
