"Factory bosses are taking action as the country's worst heatwave in 70 years makes workers sick, but unions say more must be done".

"DHAKA - In the factory where Aysha Talukder Tanisa stitches jeans and children's clothes for Western brands, the cooling system has been no match for Bangladesh's longest heatwave in 70 years.

"Some of us - mostly girls - fall sick, vomiting or swooning due to the boiling heat," the 22-year-old told Context by phone from Ashulia, a town near the capital, Dhaka.

Temperatures soared to more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in late April, taking a particularly heavy toll on factory workers including most of Bangladesh's four million garment industry employees, 60% of whom are women.

Around the world, more than two-thirds of workers have been exposed to excessive heat while doing their jobs, a U.N. report said in April."

Md. Tahmid Zami reports for the Thomson Reuters Foundation June 4, 2024. [2]