Unions set upper temperature limits

Unions are taking a tough line on acceptable working temperatures by setting upper limits beyond which members should not work.

The executive committee of rail union ASLEF has advised its members to refuse to work on safety grounds in train cabs where heat levels rise above 27¡C.

And in the wake of a debate at its conference in April (see Labour Research, May 2007), the NUT teaching union has set the bar even lower. Its new guidance states that: "The NUT expects schools to implement planned measures to reduce temperatures as soon as staff complain that working conditions are beginning to become uncomfortable or as soon as it is known that temperatures are going to become uncomfortable ... If in doubt, 26¡C should be used as the trigger for these measures."