Brishti Basu, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter THE TYEE
Summer is typically a time when restaurants hire and train new employees. There was little respite for Khushi Mehta and her colleagues at a Vancouver pizzeria during the 2021 Heat Dome.
“We couldn't have new employees waiting by themselves to take a break,” Mehta said, describing a hot, stuffy workplace with a large pizza oven and little ventilation.
“While we were working in very high temperatures, I don't think there was much emphasis on physical health.”
Mehta stopped working in the food service sector several months after her experience at Heat Dome and has since joined forces with the Workers Solidarity Network, a coalition of precarious workers who are not unionized in B.C. We are collaborating on projects to find ways to prioritize safety in the workplace. during future extreme weather events.
WSN is urging the state to implement maximum temperature limits to ensure safe indoor work, especially for food service workers, ahead of an expected hot and dry summer.
Jen Kostschuk of the Climate and Labor Project said the group held a rally Friday afternoon in front of Health Minister Adrian Dix's Vancouver office to advocate for new legislation to introduce a maximum temperature at which people can safely work indoors. Or they plan to seek changes to existing rules. Coordinator of WSN.
Kostachuk said the standards set by the state are important for non-union food service workers, who are likely to lose paid work if they request accommodations.
“For workers in the food service industry, turning down a dangerous job is very complicated for many when their hours and wages are at stake or they fear widespread retaliation from their employer. “It's true,” said Kostyuk, who also worked intermittently in the restaurant industry. 10 years.
“Other jurisdictions, such as Germany and Spain, for example, set indoor temperatures in workplaces at 27°C, and require mandatory measures such as fogging if temperatures exceed 35°C, especially in spaces with hot ovens. We are taking measures to cool down employees and implementing mandatory breaks.”
Further ideas for improvement
Kostachuk said the organization also advocates for workers to be allowed frequent hydration and breaks during heat waves, and forgiving dress codes that require black long pants and long-sleeved shirts even in otherwise hot weather. He also said that he is looking for standards such as safety.
Mr Kostarchuk said WSN and its members had sent 185 letters to Minister Adrian Dix, Harry Baines, Bowin Marr and Prime Minister David Eby about the issue, but had not yet received a response.
Mr. Baines answered questions sent directly from The Tyee on behalf of the Department of Labor. “Our ministry and WorkSafeBC take workplace risks of all nature very seriously,” Baines said. “Last year, the province introduced the B.C. Heat Alert and Response System. We welcome input and will continue to take action to protect workers in the face of a changing climate.”
Currently, in British Columbia, workplace regulations are based on taking sufficient steps to ensure that an employee's core body temperature does not exceed 38 degrees. Federal Occupational Safety and Health Standards recommend a minimum of 18 degrees and a maximum of 29 degrees in food preparation areas.
Mehta said his project with WSN had come up with a number of ideas to improve the working environment during the heat wave. He installed thermometers in restaurants to indicate when it was too hot to work and gave employees paid time off instead. Working during a heat wave is high on the list.
WSN published a report last year highlighting the experiences of food service workers during the 2021 heat dome and wildfire season, which killed 619 people.
A story about fainting at work
In 2021, WorkSafeBC received 115 heat stress complaints, nearly three times the average number of claims from 2018 to 2020, and 81 in 2022. WorkSafeBC said in a statement to The Tyee that number dropped to 49 cases last summer.
“Although recent summers have not been as extreme as 2021, we are hopeful that if there is a heatwave this summer, the government will strongly urge restaurants to close during periods of high temperatures. “We are working hard,” Mehta said.
As a student who immigrated to Vancouver from India, Mehta said: “My hometown is better prepared for extreme weather than Vancouver as a whole.” “
“In our project, we heard from workers who did not have air conditioning in their workplaces or who passed out at work due to heat stress,” Kostyuk said.
“People who work at fast-food drive-through windows told us how the extreme heat and wildfire smoke are negatively impacting their physical health.”
Warmer-than-usual early spring weather has already broken dozens of temperature records across British Columbia as of last weekend.
The coming summer is expected to be a dry one, with snow levels across British Columbia nearly 40 per cent below normal for this winter. As a result, as B.C. prepares for an early wildfire season this year, Dr. Patricia Daly, Vancouver Coastal Health's chief medical health officer, says extreme weather events caused by climate change are “a private matter.” “An existential threat to our population.”
Regarding heat preparedness and the protection of indoor and outdoor workers in industries such as construction and agriculture, as well as people with disabilities who were clearly at higher risk during the 2021 heat dome. Not much has been said about it yet.
Related article: WorkSafeBC asks employers to close if they can't keep employees cool during heat wave
Related article: Worker Solidarity Network urges B.C. to protect workers in heat wave
