Highlighting the impact of climate change on labour rights

Tsiropoulou’s award-winning report sheds light on how climate change is disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable and low-paid workers—including those in agriculture, tourism, delivery services, waste collection, and construction.

These workers lack the ability to adapt their working conditions—they cannot work from home, adjust their hours to cooler times of the day, or easily switch careers. Many of them do not have access to healthcare, with migrant workers particularly at risk.

Lessons from Paraguay: A warning for Greece

The report examines a 2022 experiment in Paraguay, where the slogan “Offer a bottle of water to your delivery person” gained attention. Local journalists conducted an experiment measuring environmental conditions and workers’ physical health, revealing that delivery workers suffered from heat-related injuries such as cramps, headaches, dizziness, increased heart rate, and severe weakness—symptoms linked to many traffic accidents among delivery riders.

Greek researcher Andreas Flouris, who led the study, sees direct parallels between Paraguay and Greece, warning:

“The climate is not at all different from that of Greece. In fact, the heat and THYMVAS index (which factors in temperature, solar radiation, humidity, and wind) recorded in Paraguay were often much lower than what we measure in Athens during the summer. This is not just relevant to us—it should alarm us.”

Greece still lacks protective legislation

Despite repeated warnings from labour unions and scientists, Greece has yet to introduce protective legislation for workers exposed to extreme heat.

Read Jenny Tsiropoulou’s full article here.

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