What image says ‘best winter fashion’ and its energy improvement measures…,
Winter,… 19 degrees in offices (the Belgian standard in force) and the usual 100% intervention to regulate the heating installations,
Winter also has a very different reality: for some of you who are in person in the Commission’s offices.
Unfortunately, your nationality is not a factor determining your ability to adapt to this unpleasant situation…
It does not matter whether you are Greek or Swedish,… under health and safety at work, your body temperature must always stay around 37 degrees, regardless of the job you doing.
Today, if your working situation is:
· uncomfortable (cold and wearing adding clothes),
· very uncomfortable: you are starting to move to increase your heat production…, this explains everything!
The cause of your thermal discomfort is in your working environment, a situation which the European Commission is able to remedy.
It must adapt the temperature in the workplaces at each workstation with the right balance between the following six (no fewer) parameters:
- air temperature,
- air humidity,
- thermal radiation,
- air speed,
- impact of clothing and
- physical load.
Not only wearing large jumpers should solve this challenge: your employer (or DG HR) must carry out a risk analysis of the thermal environment for its entire building stock: action never taken by the administration, despite staff representation at the ACPPW…
We are continuing our work in this very specific context.
Pending any results, here is your ‘BRRR…’ manual for the 2 season:
Chapter 1: the usual conduct:
— You call 55555 and ask for three measurements of the thermal environment to make the necessary corrections: air temperature, air humidity and air speed,
— If you are still cold after this intervention, submit a complaint to OIB SIPP SAFETY (the prevention advisers) with OSP-US-BXL@ec.europa.eu in copy.
— And if this is not successful, you should forward your message to the ACPPW: we will assist you in doing so.
Chapter 2: disaster prevention:
If you are a person working in Loi 107, it is likely that the air flow under the ventilation mouth will arrive directly on your shoulders. In such a case, you may ask the Director of OIB, in his capacity as Health and Safety Officer, to redirect your workstation (OIB reply to opinion Loi 107).
If the current thermal environment is a risk of worsening your state of health, ask the occupational physicians to telework at 100 % (Medical Service).
By doing so, you will avoid any palliative measures leading to your own personal liability, such as the installation of supplementary heating or the plugging of ventilation ducts.
And you will help us to go further for all of you.
