In July 2019, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released its report called, ‘Working on a Warmer Planet – The Impact of Heat Stress on Labour Productivity and Decent Work’. According to the report, by the year 2030, more than two percent of the total working hours worldwide is anticipated to be lost every year due to heat stress and global warming. These estimates are based on a global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the 21st century and also on the labor trends. The productivity loss due to global warming is the equivalent of as much as 80 million full-time jobs.
The accumulated global financial loss due to the effects of heat stress on labor productivity is expected to reach USD 2,400 billion by 2030. This will also lead to national-level GDP losses, estimated to be more than five percent in Thailand, Cambodia, India and Pakistan.
A report by the UN labor agency said India is expected to see maximum productivity loss due to global warming and is estimated to lose 5.8% of working hours in 2030. In absolute terms, the expected loss would be equivalent of 34 million full-time jobs.
Excess heat at work is an occupational health risk and can affect outdoor workers like those engaged in agriculture and on construction sites. High temperatures and heat stress can lead to productivity loss and in extreme cases it can even lead to death.
Agriculture will be one of the worst affected sectors with about 940 million people being active in this sector across the world. With the rising heat, this sector alone will be responsible for 60% of productivity loss globally, by 2030. Construction, too, will be severely impacted with a projection of 19% of global working hours lost in 2030.
According to World Bank, the central districts of India are more vulnerable to global warming, because of lack of infrastructure and dependence on agriculture for livelihood. For instance, Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region has been adversely affected by intense heat and have experienced the greatest number of farmer suicides in recent years.
People in the poorest regions will suffer the most substantial economic losses since they have fewer resources to adapt to the situation. This will reinforce the already existing economic inequality and encourage migration of workers from rural areas. The ILO report warns that the economic, social and health effects of heat stress on labor productivity would make it harder to tackle poverty.
You might also be interested to read: Remote Working to Enhance Productivity and Job Satisfaction
It is extremely crucial that appropriate measures are taken by governments and employers to create better working conditions and protect the most vulnerable from the effects of climate change on business. The ILO report demands for increased efforts to design and implement national policies to manage heat stress risks and improve the implementation of international labor standards in the area of occupational safety and health to tackle productivity loss due to global warming.
Employers and workers are in the position to assess risks related to heat stress more accurately. They must take suitable action to deal with the effects of heat stress on labor productivity. Other measures need to be planned around indoor and outdoor working methods, working hours, dress codes, equipment, use of new technologies, shade and rest breaks. Without specific measures in place to curb this impending situation, productivity loss due to global warming will continue to be a threat and as reported, by 2030 the country will likely see a substantial productivity loss.
References:
- India could face productivity loss equivalent to 34 million jobs in 2030 due to global warming: UN- PTI, 02 July, 2019
- The growing threat of climate change in India- Vishnu Padmanabhan, Sneha Alexander, Prachi Srivastava, 21 July, 2019
- Increase in heat stress predicted to bring productivity loss equivalent to 80 million jobs- News, 01 July, 2019
