Work Health and Safety in the Era of Climate Crisis

ACTU Position Paper on Climate Change and WHS Reform

Introduction

The world is currently on track to experience nearly 3° C warming above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century. On that warming trajectory, the National Climate Risk Assessment (NCRA) concludes that by 2050, 1.5 million Australians living in coastal communities will be at high risk of annual flooding. By the 2060s, Australia will witness up to 45 days per year in which extreme heat makes manual labour too dangerous to perform outdoors and at least 2.7 million additional days of work are lost every year to climate disasters. By the end of the century, heat deaths will spike 444% in Sydney, 423% in Darwin, 312% in Perth, and 259% in Melbourne and reduced labour and agricultural productivity will result in a cumulative wealth loss of $4.2 trillion.

These statistics illustrate a vital point: climate change hurts workers. Climate action—cutting emissions, just transition, and adapting to impacts already “baked in”—is now core union business. Without urgent action, workers’ fundamental right to safe and healthy work will be increasingly undermined by rising temperatures.

Climate change is most felt by people who cannot escape its impacts, including workers whose livelihood puts them at risk from climate extremes. Workers, especially those working outdoors, are frequently the first to be exposed to the consequences of climate change, often for longer periods and at greater intensities than the general population. The International Labour Organisation estimates that 15,000 work-related deaths are caused by vector borne illnesses annually, over 19,000 by skin cancer from UV radiation, and up to 860,000 from workplace air pollution—all linked to and significantly worsened by climate change. Globally, Work Health & Safety (WHS) policies and practices are increasingly failing to protect workers from a variety of climate-related hazards.

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