As climate change drives longer and more intense heatwaves, extreme heat is no longer just an issue of discomfort; it is now a real and deadly daily occupational hazard.

To champion the fight for safer working conditions, BWI Asia Pacific Regional Campaign Officer (Climate and Forestry) Wong Yan Ke recently appeared on Astro AWANI's “Consider This” to discuss the urgent reality of heat stress, as the global trade union movement marks International Workers’ Memorial Day and International Labour Day.

In the said interview, Yan Ke highlighted how construction workers endure a “mega oven” effect, trapped between heat-absorbing concrete and steel scaffolding. He addressed the severe medical implications, from racing pulses to a dangerous loss of focus, whilst noting the power dynamics that often silence workers from reporting unsafe, sweltering conditions for fear of victimisation.

Yan Ke also emphasised the indispensable role of trade unions in acting as a collective shield for workers. He laid out BWI's demands for the government to officially recognise heat stress as an occupational hazard, implement “heat delay clauses” without penalising contractors, and introduce robust social protections for work stoppages.