Thousands of French schools operate in stifling heat without air conditioning. The unions talk about threatened health and declare a strike.
French teachers’ unions called a strike on Thursday to protest “unacceptable working conditions” due to the heatwave. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
“The health of employees and pupils, as well as their working conditions, are at risk,” the unions said in a joint statement. They condemned the government’s “obvious unpreparedness” for heat waves.
Consequences of heat in schools
“Over the past 48 hours, we have received more and more alerts from our colleagues about the (unfavorable) conditions they are working in,” the union said. They cited cases of heat-related collapses, an increase in school ambulance visits and EMS trips, as well as a spike in reports of workplace safety and health incidents.
The unions said they had announced the strike in view of the deteriorating situation and government inaction. At the same time, they encouraged employees to use existing measures, such as the right to refuse to work in case of serious and imminent danger.
Most French schools are not equipped with air conditioning and around 3,500 of them were closed on Thursday. However, many remained open.
