MORE than 175,000 people have signed petitions calling for the government to introduce maximum workplace temperatures, as unions ballot for better working conditions in heatwaves.

Bus drivers in north London are threatening to strike unless air conditioning is installed in cabs where some have recorded temperatures of 50°C.

Museum staff at the V&A in London are also balloting over closing areas when they go above safe working temperatures.

Both votes are due to close tomorrow when highs of up to 35°C are forecast across south-east England in the fourth heatwave of the year.

Today the Met Office upgraded heat health alerts in some areas of England as it predicted temperatures to reach 30°C in the south-east today.

The Heat Strike campaign meanwhile announced that the number of signatories to its petitions demanding the government take urgent action to protect workers in the face of more dangerous heatwaves has topped 175,000.

One by the TUC started in 2021 gained about 20,000 signatures this year alone, with more than 3,000 people having vowed to take part in an upcoming Heat Strike.

Unions including the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), the Fire Brigades Union, National Education Union and Equity have all passed motions to support Heat Strike and its demands for a maximum working temperature, and the government to implement a heatwave furlough scheme and climate action plan.

BFAWU’s Kernow branch president Robbie Woodland said: “My union has been calling for a maximum workplace temperature for over a decade as bakeries regularly see extreme temperatures.”

A north London bus driver said: “Driving a bus in these heatwaves is like driving a mobile greenhouse. Some drivers who are bringing in their own thermometers are reporting in-cab temperatures up to 50°C. Work becomes unbearable.”

Heat Strike campaigner Liam Geary Baulch said: “The petitions show everyone is now feeling the effects of the climate now. People are scared these heatwaves will set off a national health and safety emergency.

“That’s why they are urging the PM to put the brakes on now, else more lives will be lost.

“Until there’s a clear plan to protect everyone from the extreme heat, it’s up to workers to keep our colleagues and community safe by removing ourselves from unsafe workplaces.”