The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) and the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) on Tuesday issued a joint statement marking this year's International Workers’ Memorial Day, honoring workers who have died due to unsafe and unhealthy conditions while urging stronger protections for those still on the job. The groups warned of an escalating global occupational safety and health crisis, driven by the growing impact of heat stress and extreme weather. “Heat is no longer a seasonal issue. It is a structural occupational hazard,” BWI and EFBWW said, noting that workers in construction, building materials, forestry, and related sectors are increasingly exposed to heatwaves, storms, floods, and wildfires that endanger their lives.

The unions called on governments, employers, and institutions to move “from awareness to enforceable protection,” including legally binding standards on climate-related risks, stronger labor inspections, and the integration of occupational safety and health in climate adaptation policies. At the European Union level, they urged the inclusion of extreme weather risks in the Occupational Safety and Health Framework Directive (Directive 89/391/EEC) and the creation of a dedicated directive on working in extreme conditions. The statement also pushed for workplace measures such as the right to stop work during dangerous heat, adjusted hours and paid breaks, access to water and shade, and protections for vulnerable workers. “On this day of remembrance, we honour those we have lost by fighting for the living,” BWI and EFBWW said, stressing that protection “must be guaranteed, negotiated and enforced—not left to chance.”

Download the joint statement.