The Building and Wood Workers’ International is backing its Swiss affiliate UNIA in their call for broad mobilisation across Switzerland as part of the "Pas d'étés à 50°C!" ("No 50-degree summers!") alliance. Over 70 organisations have joined the alliance to demand an emergency plan to combat the impacts of climate change.

This comes after a new survey by UNIA showed that heat-protection rules on Swiss worksites are being widely ignored.

“What’s happening on Swiss construction worksites is happening all over the world,” said Ambet Yuson, general secretary of BWI. “Workers are on the frontlines in a rapidly heating world and need enforceable protections to stop unsafe work. We can’t wait for the next heatwave to secure these rights at work.”

In Switzerland, eight worksites out of ten are breaking the rules

UNIA's July 2026 survey of almost 1000 construction workers showed that current heat-protection rules are not actually applied on the ground. The results were stark:

• 85 per cent of worksites do not grant the regular cooling breaks required once temperatures hit 33°C.
• Only one in three worksites has a cool place to take a break.
• Two-thirds of workers had no change to their working hours during heatwaves.
• 15 per cent experienced or witnessed a heat-related medical episode this summer.
   

Part of a bigger fight: BWI's call to action

As documented in BWI’s “Adapting to the Heat” report, heat is a workplace hazard and increasingly part of a global pattern of hotter, longer and more frequent heatwaves.

BWI stands in full solidarity with UNIA and its members and calls on affiliates, allies and the wider trade union movement to support the call for urgent climate action.

Learn more and get involved:

• The "Pas d'étés à 50°C!" alliance and appeal: 50degres.ch