McDonald’s workers at two southern Italy branches went on strike after being forced to work in scorching conditions without air-conditioning amid the intense heat wave in the region.
About 140 workers hit the picket lines Sunday after McDonald’s workers in Bari and Casamassima fell ill while working in boiling-hot kitchens as temperatures soared to 104 degrees.
Domenico Ficco, a spokesperson for Filcams CGIL Bari — the union representing the McDonald’s employees — said that staffers even tried to bring portable air conditioners to work, but the electrical system did not hold up.
Other kitchen workers reportedly asked the branches to close on what’s being billed as “red hot” days amid the heat wave, though their requests went unanswered, Bari Today reported.
CGIL representatives also called on government agencies — like the INPS, Italy’s National Institute for Social Security — to intervene.
One hundred and forty McDonald’s workers employed across two branches in southern Italy are on strike over having to work in 104-degree kitchens without air conditioning. Getty ImagesThe Post has reached out to McDonald’s and CGIL for comment.
The heat wave has been scorching the region since last week, when a 105-degree day eclipsed a record set in August 2007.
Temperatures are expected to remain in the triple digits through the end of the month, and Italy’s health minister Orazio Schillaci has warned residents and visitors to drink lots of water and “opt for a diet based on vegetables and fresh fruit.”
The picketing workers are represented by the union Filcams CGIL. Staffers have been striking since Sunday, and were pictured outside of the McDonald’s Bari location. Getty Images
Some employees fell ill while working in the scorching kitchens as temperatures soared to 104 degrees. Getty ImagesHe also advised that “avoiding excessive consumption of fatty foods and alcohol” will help protect against heat-induced illness.
“Special attention should be paid to the most fragile, elderly and children,” Schillaci added after announcing that there have already been at least two heat-related deaths in the country thus far.
A man believed to be in his 60s died of heat-related illness after fainting in his bakery near the northern city of Padua, and a 44-year-old rail worker died in Milan last week from the extreme conditions, according to The Guardian.
