Heart attacks can be linked to poor working conditions, according to Fiji Trades Union Congress representative Rouhit Singh.
He said factors such as rising temperatures and other extreme weather events all contributed to heightened health risks in the workplace.
“The health effects of working in severe weather conditions include respiratory and heart diseases, pest-related diseases, water and food-related illness and injuries and deaths,” he said.
Mr Singh said a person’s vulnerability to change in weather patterns depended on three factors — exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity.
“People can face multiple climate change effects at the same time, at different stages of their life or over the course of their lifetime,” he said, adding that most heart-related deaths in Fiji could be linked to poor working conditions.
“According to the World Health Organization, Fiji ranks 39 out of 183 countries in the world in fatalities from heart disease.
“Fijians experience an alarming trend in deaths from heart disease before the age of 70. It is one of the biggest killers.”
In one incident, Mr Singh claimed a former municipality worker experienced a heart attack during his final year of service, prompting an investigation that revealed a concerning connection between his health crisis and the harsh working conditions he endured.
“He worked at the garden for seven years, whether wind, sun, gale or storm, he would work.
“After the investigation was concluded, the family was compensated at $12,000.”
Mr Singh said there was a need to recognise how the change in weather patterns exacerbated risks to workers’ safety and health.
He said understanding the threats posed by climate change to safety and health at work was necessary to assess the risks because of its reality.
