"Strike threats in Italy and stoppages in Greece as workers struggle with heat"

Temperatures reached almost 47C in southern Italy on Wednesday and factory workers threatened to strike over the extreme heat, while wildfires continued to rage in Greece and temperatures in coastal waters around Spain broke records.

In Sicily, where the European record of 48.8C was registered in August 2021, the mercury climbed to almost 47C in the area between Mazara del Vallo, in the province of Trapani, and Sciacca, in Agrigento province, according to data from ilMeteo.it. Temperatures in Sardinia reached 46C while Rome – where there were energy blackouts on Tuesday due to pressure on the grid believed to be from air conditioners – peaked at 38C.

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Italy’s health minister, Orazio Schillaci, said an information line would be activated amid concerns about deaths from heat-related illnesses. A man in his 60s is believed to have died of a heat-related illness after fainting in his bakery near the northern city of Padua, and a 44-year-old road worker died in Milan last week.

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The carmaker Stellantis said it was monitoring the situation at its Pomigliano d’Arco plant near Naples after workers were sent home early on Tuesday because it was too hot to work. Workers at the battery maker Magneti Marelli threatened an eight-hour strike at a plant in Sulmona, in the central Abruzzo region. A statement from unions said the “asphyxiating heat is putting the lives of workers at risk”.

The CGIL union said temperatures in factories in the southern region of Basilicata were nearing 40C. “The arrival of the heat is a serious problem for workers because it puts their health and safety at risk,” it said. “After the Stellantis case we are getting many signals from several factories across the region. For this reason we ask workers to turn to their unions if health and safety guarantees are not being met.”

Unions have also expressed concern for agricultural workers, most of whom are seasonal workers from outside the EU, and construction workers. Farm workers in Marsica, Abruzzo, are working 4am-11am shifts as a way of avoiding the hottest hours.

In Greece, staff at the Acropolis and other ancient sites will stop work for four hours a day from Thursday in protest at working conditions.

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