Turning up the heat on climate protections for workers

Farm operators in Canada face a dizzying array of challenges in feeding a hotter planet, with increasingly erratic weather patterns, shifts in the length of the growing season, and volatile pest populations. Policy-makers have slowly begun to acknowledge threats posed by climate change to Canadian agriculture, including the likelihood of even higher food prices on a warming planet. But they’re ignoring another massive threat posed by climate change to Canadian agriculture: the dangerous and deadly impacts of extreme heat on farmworkers. Farm workers are on the front lines of the climate crisis. When wildfire season spreads thick smoke across Okanagan, B.C., vineyards, they often have little choice but to continue harvesting wine grapes while their lungs fill with dirty air. In sweltering temperatures, many farmworkers face a gruelling pace of work during the daytime. At night, they may return to overcrowded employer-provided housing without adequate fans or air conditioning for relief. Without bold climate action, the years ahead will likely get much worse. Farm workers die each year of heat-related causes such as heat stroke at a rate 20 times greater than civilians. By mid-century, the number of days U.S. farm workers labour in dangerously scorching conditions could double. Deadly extreme weather events like the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome could become a once-in-10-year event. Heat stress is not only a growing public health concern—associated with issues like rising cases of kidney disease—but by 2100, heat-related productivity losses could rise to four per cent of GDP. When temperatures rise, workers can be less productive because of “thermal strain.” Employers must be prepared to reduce workload, including the intense pace of work expected in piece-rate agriculture. When workers get hit with rising temperatures across Canada, the patchwork of provincial guidelines and regulations will be inadequate. Ontario’s law doesn’t include any reference to extreme heat, let alone a thermal upper limit or specific mandatory practices to reduce heat risks for workers. In one of the stronger examples, British Columbia regulation stipulates that if a worker is exposed to conditions that could result in heat stress, measures like a work-rest cycle, personal protective equipment, and the provisioning of water are required by employers. But a weak inspection and enforcement regime for agriculture means this regulation lacks teeth. There’s a particular chasm between agricultural Temporary Foreign Workers’ rights on paper and their rights in practice. These gaps reflect Canada’s legacy of treating agriculture as an ‘exceptional’ industry in which it is acceptable to put employer interests far ahead of worker wellbeing. Jurisdictions south of the border provide a model for occupational health and safety laws that protect workers from extreme heat. California’s permanent law for outdoor workplaces includes a “trigger temperature”: if the mercury hits 35C, employers must prevent heat illness by implementing procedures like mandatory cool-down rest periods every two hours. Oregon’s rules are even stronger, with lower trigger temperatures and requirements for workers to wear masks, respirators and other protections if the Air Quality Index reaches 101. In 2021 and 2022, Washington State implemented temporary emergency measures for outdoor heat exposure and is pursuing more permanent legal protections, likely spurred by years of activism from farmworker organizations and supportive policymakers. A federal bill (the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act) has also been introduced in the Senate to not only prevent occupational heat illness, but to protect whistleblowers. Although U.S. laws are far from perfect, they are leagues ahead of what’s on the books for climate and labour rights in Canada. Workplace-level interventions like early warning systems, rest periods, hydration, and shade are crucial to reduce vulnerabilities to extreme heat for farmworkers. However, these must be paired with broader policy changes to ensure workers have the practical ability to refuse unsafe work, especially for Temporary Foreign Workers. Farm workers need a democratic voice in the workplace, permanent immigration status on arrival, and full inclusion in basic provincial labour rights like overtime pay. Food security for Canada can’t be built on the backs of hardworking people growing food in scorching temperatures. To remedy the patchwork of legislation across the country, federal policymakers should show leadership by coordinating provinces to better protect workers from the occupational health hazards of extreme weather. Anelyse M. Weiler is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Victoria. Susanna Klassen is a postdoctoral research scholar in the Department of Sociology and the University of Victoria. The Hill Times

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Turning up the heat on climate protections for workers

As the planet warms, how will policymakers protect farm workers from scorching temperatures?

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