The climate crisis is the defining event of the 21st century, and its drastic consequences are already being felt in the Israeli labor market. Global economic uncertainty is expected to have far-reaching effects on the economy’s resilience. Despite this, the State Comptroller’s latest report reveals that the State of Israel still lacks a national economic preparation plan for the crisis’s impacts. He further found that demands for a transition to green industries and a green economy, to reduce emissions and to internalize external environmental costs—may lead to increased prices for public services provided by corporations and that these demands are not accompanied by a government action plan, causing employment uncertainty. Even worse, until recently, the different government ministries have not addressed the climate crisis’s effects on worker safety and health, and there is currently no legislation directly dealing with protecting workers exposed to the elements.
The climate crisis also has a diverse and dramatic effect on workers’ safety and health. This includes, among other things, exposure to physical risk factors such as heat stress and hazardous radiation. According to the International Labor Organization, approximately 38,000 workers worldwide die annually due to heat stress or ultraviolet radiation, and the health of roughly 2.09 million workers worldwide is permanently damaged. These consequences are already being felt in Israel, where dozens of workers collapse from heat stress during their work each year. Additionally, about 1,000 new patients are diagnosed annually with skin cancer due to occupational reasons.
There is no denying that the climate crisis is an existential threat to all of us, and we are well into “Injury Time.” Therefore, in this position paper, we will examine the current Israeli safety and health regulations for protecting workers who work outdoors from the elements, with an emphasis on these risk factors (i.e., heat stress and ultraviolet radiation) and the measures taken by countries around the world to reduce workers’ exposure to these factors.
The purpose of this document is to contribute to the formulation of relevant recommendations for Israel to ensure the protection of workers whose health and safety are at increased risk due to the effects of the climate crisis and to demand that decision-makers immediately formulate legislation to prevent further harm to the most vulnerable workers.
An article published in The Times Of Israel quotes from the report.
To the full report:
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