In the Hot Seat? Protecting Workers from Heat Stress

As the climate emergency becomes more evident, heat and humidity are affecting more of us, sometimes fatally. OHCOW’s recent heat stress infographic is being snapped up. The high costs for workers and their families are mostly invisible, much of it borne by individuals and society. Employers have few rules to follow, other than their general duty to protect workers. The mantra of “water, shade, rest” is not universally followed or enforced.

Please join this webinar to hear about the basics of heat stress and illnesses, the experiences of workers in Canada and the United States, and efforts to deal with the hazard. Hosted by OHCOW Occupational Health Specialist Dorothy Wigmore, speakers will include:

• Juley Fulcher, Worker Health and Safety Advocate, Public Citizen (talking about the financial costs of heat stress and US heat stress prevention efforts)
• Chris Ramsaroop, Organiser with Justice for Migrant Workers (discussing what the group heard recently from southern Ontario migrant farmworkers about heat stress)
• Eduardo Huesca, Project Manager, Migrant Worker Projects, OHCOW, who provides a little history about OHCOW’s work with migrant farmworkers around heat stress and describes current work in collaboration with the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) focusing on temperature and humidity in worker housing
• Lindsay Dixon, Canadian Environmental Law Association (describing CELA’s follow-up to their report about heat stress issues for agricultural workers)
• Natasha Luckhardt, Director of Health, Safety and Environment, Ontario Federation of Labour (describing a current campaign for a heat stress regulation in Ontario

There will be plenty of time for discussion.

REGISTER HERE