TRADE unionists have demanded that the government set a maximum workplace temperature, or face a heat strike.

The warning was issued as union members and climate activists came together to raise the alarm over the looming health and safety crisis, warning that a heat strike will be triggered if temperatures exceed 36°C.

One thousand workers have already been enacting heat safety inspections this week as part of a TUC-backed campaign, to highlight the dangers of rising temperatures.

Workers also staged a lunchtime walkout at a food manufacturing site in North Yorkshire on Thursday, where temperatures have routinely exceeded 35°C in the last few weeks.

Healthcare staff have set up cool stations outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London to support workers and the public amid a lack of official plans to protect against the heat.

And in London today, bus drivers were seen leafleting about how temperatures in their cabs frequently go over the safe limit. 

On Monday, the Met Office’s annual climate report confirmed that the frequency of hot days are dramatically increasing, noting that the last three years have been Britain’s top five warmest on record.

Last September, the TUC unanimously passed a motion brought by the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) to support a heat strike. 

Representatives from the NEU, the CWU, the Society of Radiographers, FBU, UCU and Unite spoke in support of the motion. Extinction Rebellion groups are also backing the campaign.

BFAWU national president Ian Hodson said: “As president of the bakers union I’ve seen conditions get tougher each summer for our industry. 

“We need employers and the government to get on with the job, rather than hanging us out to dry.

“As heatwaves become more frequent and extreme, the UK government is baking in a national health and safety crisis. Without a plan to respond to these heatwaves, I fear more people will get hurt.

“That’s why we’re saying to employers and the government: set a maximum workplace temperature now or face a heat strike.”

The Health and Safety Executive has been contacted for comment.