New heat protocols for workers and employers in Italy.
Italy’s labour ministry on Wednesday signed off on new measures to safeguard the health and safety of workers during extreme heat, with a particular focus on those working outdoors.
The so-called “heat protocol”, signed in the presence of representatives from trade unions and employers’ associations, will be implemented with a ministerial decree in the coming days, labour minister Marina Calderone said.
The measures include the reorganisation of shifts and working hours during heatwaves and also include protocols relating to training, prevention, health surveillance and risk assessment.
“The primary objective is to combine the continuation of production activities with the guarantee of health and safety conditions in work environments and working methods”, the labour ministry said in a statement.
The national legislation comes after around a dozen Italian regions introduced measures earlier this week to protect workers during a heatwave which has turned deadly.
A 47-year-old construction worker near the northern city of Bologna died on Monday after suffering a suspected heatstroke while pouring concrete.
On Wednesday two men, aged 75 and 57, died on after becoming unwell on beaches on the island of Sardinia, where temperatures have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius this week.
An 85-year-old died of heart failure after walking into a hospital in Genoa seeking help for dehydration, while it is not excluded that heat played a factor in the death of a 70-year-old lorry driver found dead in his vehicle near Brescia.
Hospital emergency units in parts of Italy have registered a surge in heat-related admissions in recent days, with blackouts recorded in several Italian cities due to the heatwave.
Italy’s health ministry has issued a maximum red alert heat warning on Thursday for 18 cities, including Rome and Milan, rising to 19 cities on Friday.
