Our climate is changing and the health and safety of workers is on the line

Credit: Adobe Stock/justocker.

It’s July, and out-of-control wildfires are raging across the country, polluting our air and showing how hot it already is.

Climate-related hazards like these are impacting workers with more and more frequency.

While Canada must lead in the fight against climate change – such as by championing good, sustainable jobs in a lower-carbon economy – we can’t ignore that there are real impacts on workplace health and safety right now.

From extreme heat and cold events, heavy rain, snow and flooding, air pollution, severe winds and more, these challenges are enormous.

While we fight to stop our climate from becoming unlivable, we need to address what this means for work right now, today.

We have a system for workplace health and safety in Canada. The focus is on preventing injuries. We do that by removing hazards, separating workers from hazards, and if we can’t do that, using personal protective equipment (PPE).

While the challenges are big, we have the systems to keep workers safe; at all levels of government, workers need regulations to catch up to 2026, and we need enforcement that meets the moment.

First, setting better standards: Climate change may be creating new hazards, but the principles of workplace safety have not changed. Our system of worker health and safety is based on the principle that we prevent injuries by eliminating or controlling hazards.

The first step is understanding the hazard. We need regulations that recognize temperatures and air quality can change rapidly throughout the working day and require simple, real-time measurements so that when conditions change and work gets too hot, is hot for too long, or air quality reaches an unsafe threshold, work stops.

That extends to workers themselves: in the case of heat stress, symptoms between young and older workers and between sexes differ greatly. Training is needed to recognize the signs when they appear – interventions work best when they are started early. Workers need to know there is no such thing as “toughing it out.”

Workers also need the protections that allow them to stay healthy and safe when climate-related hazards appear.

During extreme weather, workers must be able to take paid recovery breaks for as often, and as long, as they need to be safe. In a changing climate, we can also expect more workers to be asked to work in cooler periods, such as the evening. Workers must be paid a premium for such shifts – work-life balance is key to good health.

While many people will think automatically of outdoor workers, it’s important to remember that many indoor workplaces do not have air conditioning. A shop or an office without air conditioning can reach unsafe temperatures, and in an already hot workplace, for example a kitchen, cooling can be overwhelmed and make the workspace even hotter. Indoor workers are affected by outdoor heat and must be protected. Where cooling is possible it must be available.

We must also remember that smoke from forest fires enters communities of all sizes, and indoor workers need to be protected from carcinogens and other harms this smoke poses. Aging buildings require modifications to HVAC and other systems to ensure indoor workers have access to clean air.

Finally, where workers must use PPE, it must fit properly, it must be customizable, and it must not exacerbate thermal stress.

There is also the workplace stress of extreme weather and climate change more broadly. According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, possible effects include acute impacts such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression and chronic concern and anxiety about the future. These hazards must be assessed and controlled just like any other workplace stress.

And finally, even the best regulations are only as strong as their enforcement. Workers need more than rights on paper. They need confidence those rights will be respected in practice. Workplaces must have regular, proactive inspections to ensure hazards are being controlled and workers are safe.

The workplace impacts of climate change are no longer being felt in isolated events. They are here, they are predictable, and they are serious.

Workers in Canada have a right to safe work, and that means regulations and enforcement that address the all-too-predictable hazards faced on job sites.

Bea Bruske is president of the Canadian Labour Congress.