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‘Zonked the hell out’: Climate change and heat stress at work

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Elizabeth Humphrys Open the ORCID record for Elizabeth Humphrys [Opens in a new window] ,
James Goodman  and
Freya Newman
Elizabeth Humphrys*
Affiliation:
University of Technology Sydney, Australia
James Goodman
Affiliation:
University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Freya Newman
Affiliation:
University of Technology Sydney, Australia
*
Elizabeth Humphrys, Social and Political Sciences Program, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia. Email: elizabeth.humphrys@uts.edu.au
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Abstract

Climate change is most directly felt by people who cannot escape its impacts, including workers whose source of livelihood may put them directly at risk from high heat. Research on these impacts for Australian workers, especially the sociopolitical determinants of effective workplace heat management, remains limited. This article presents findings from a national research project that investigated these issues in collaboration with the Australia-based United Workers Union. It reports on the experiences of members exposed to high heat, explores how they address heat stress and how they relate this to climate change. The article expands understanding of the impacts of workplace heat, especially for indoor workers and those in lower paid jobs, through a focus on how workers articulate their experiences and understand and exercise their agency at work.

Keywords

Climate changeheat stressunionsworkplace health and safetyQ54J28
Type
COVID, climate change, worker safety and inequality
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , June 2022 , pp. 256 - 271
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2022

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