In view of the statistically proven increase in the number of hot days, the construction union GBH is dissatisfied with the current heat-related holiday regulations. In the summer of 2024, for example, when looking at June and July, relatively fewer days off were granted than in the entire previous summer. “This is very unsatisfactory,” criticizes GBH boss Josef Muchitsch (SPÖ) and calls for legal adjustments to employee protection laws to take climate change into account in an interview with APA.
Last year, over the whole summer, around one in four construction workers was granted a more or less long day off due to the heat. According to Muchitsch, this ranged from an hour to a few afternoons. This year, an initial analysis of the data for June and July shows that only around one in ten construction workers was granted a day off due to the heat. The hot August has not yet been analyzed – and currently the heat in the south and east of the country is still continuing into September, with temperatures reaching up to 35 degrees Celsius.
“In June and July, just over 9,000 construction workers were granted time off due to the heat,” said Muchitsch. “Last year, the figure was 23,000 for the entire summer.” Of the approximately 135,000 construction workers in total, around 100,000 work outside and are therefore potentially affected by the heat.
There is no obligation
As has been widely reported, there is a special heat regulation for the construction industry. This allows companies to give employees time off when the temperature reaches 32.5 degrees. There is no obligation – naturally, not all employers make use of this option. If time off is given due to heat, both employees and employers are entitled to reimbursement from the BUAK (Construction Workers’ Holiday and Severance Pay Fund) bad weather fund, which they also fill together.
The union is tackling the issue on two levels – that of raising awareness and that of a regulation that, in their view, is more effective than the current, voluntary one. Muchitsch reiterated the union’s call for a legal adjustment. The turquoise-green government had postponed requests to this effect and wants a solution based on social partnership. The Social Democrat and FSG boss argues against this: “The requirement to wear a seat belt when driving only worked when it was regulated by law – it didn’t work voluntarily at the time. We probably also have to make adjustments to the employee protection laws to take climate change into account.”
More breaks required
It is not about working less. Construction work usually starts so early that by the time the temperature reaches 32.5 hours, work has often already been done for eight hours. So it could be regulated by law that working hours are limited to eight hours on hot days. Beyond the construction sector, more breaks should be prescribed in other areas such as the health sector or for workers in hot production halls. Measures to regulate the temperature downwards, such as shade and air conditioning, could also be prescribed, according to the GBH boss. In any case, certain employee protection laws should be adapted to the new climatic conditions.
In order to avoid potential disputes about the actual temperature between employers and unions on the construction site, the two players are now taking the values from the same measuring stations. The official measurement from Geosphere Austria at the station closest to the construction site (postcode) is used. A specially created GBH heat app actively informs about the current temperatures and gives construction workers the certainty of when they can take a day off due to the heat, says Muchitsch.
When it comes to heat-free days, “it’s always just a matter of a few hours in the afternoon,” stresses the politician and trade unionist, who also advocates for changes to the tendering process. After all, it is now possible in large parts of Austria to continue building work throughout the winter – and this should be used more, instead of “the old-fashioned way of making construction workers clock in during the winter – that depends on the tendering process.”
