Read to the end for gig economy progress, Amazon’s battle against the trade unions, and how not to let your job define who you are.

Morning team, 

This is Evie Breese back from a glorious two weeks in France and Spain. But stepping off the plane on my return, I did not expect to be faced with similar temperatures in old blighty this early in June. 

We’ve got soldiers fainting under their bearskin hats, and a rationed water supply in parts of Kent and Sussex forcing schools to close without access to water. And it’s not even mid June!

While the government has been feeling a different kind of heat over a string of high-profile resignations, the TUC is calling for stronger protections to keep those staying in their jobs cool while at work.

There is currently no legal minimum or maximum temperature for UK workplaces, but the TUC believes workers should have the right to down tools once indoor temperatures reach 30C, or 27C for those doing manual labour. In the absence of such a law so far, here are your rights when it comes to keeping safe and cool at work. 

And as records continue to be broken when it comes to Britain’s climate, we’ve been wondering what it’s like to deliver this increasingly alarming news. I spoke to BBC Weather meteorologist Tomasz Schafernaker on how his role reporting on sunny skies and chilly mornings has changed over the past two decades. 

Is the heating climate and hotter summers affecting your job? Let me know via email or Twitter. 

Got a work-related story I should know about? Drop me an email at evie.breese@bigissue.com or tweet at @Evie_Breese

What you need to know about work this week:

Wage theft. West Yorkshire Police has been forced to warn people not to misuse 999 after a woman called the emergency number to report two weeks of unpaid wages. The call operator told the woman to contact her trade union or HR department, tricky advice given that less than a quarter of Brits are in a union, and HR may already be aware. The BBC has the story. 

Vicious cycle. Wages are rising faster than economists predicted, according to new ONS figures published yesterday, with average wages (excluding bonuses) up 7.2% on the year during the three months to April. But this isn’t to be celebrated, rather, the Bank of England may have to raise interest rates again in response. 

Working dads. One in five fathers are not taking any paternity leave at all, largely because they cannot afford to reduce their income, according to new research from the TUC. The Independent's brilliant Maya Oppenheim has the write up.

Red light on the green. Labour has scaled back plans to borrow £28bn a year to invest in green jobs and industry due to the poor economic climate. But the party is “100% not abandoning our plan”, according to shadow energy secretary Ed Miliband.

Welcome to the team. Union GMB has been forced to withdraw its attempt to push for union recognition at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse, claiming the company recruited 1,300 extra workers to prevent the union gaining half the workforce as members. Amazon denies the claim. Heather Stewart has the full story for the Guardian. 

“Good, union jobs”. Speaking at the GMB congress, Keir Starmer promised that were Labour to win the next election, government tenders would be linked to unionised workplaces. He also backed calls for Amazon to recognise the union in Coventry. 

Free money, really! A universal income pilot that will pay participants £1,600 a month, no string attached, is to be trialled in England. The authors of a major study on the scheme say it could transform the nation’s health. We’ve got the story at the Big Issue. 

Strike watch

Junior doctors started a 72-hour strike at 7am today, demanding their pay be restored after the more than 26% drop over the last 15 years, according to the British Medical Association. The NHS has said the industrial action will cause enormous disruption, impacting almost all routine or pre-planned care.

While the government recently reached a pay deal with one million health workers, this was rejected by members of Unite. This means the union has continued to escalate the industrial action, announcing further strikes by ambulance and hospital staff. The BBC has the details on the affected hospitals and ambulance services.

Security workers at Heathrow have called off two days of their upcoming strike action, on 23 and 25 June, but say they will proceed with the further 29 days if members of Unite vote to reject the latest pay deal.

Take a look at our comprehensive list of upcoming strike dates.

A global solution 🇪🇺

Countries in the EU have finally reached an agreement that could see 28 million gig economy workers gain access to employment rights.This would force companies like Uber and Deliveroo to pay parental leave and social security later down the line. 

For now, however, the proposals are seeking to protect workers from decisions made by algorithms, which are already making can make crucial decisions over working hours and disciplinaries. The proposals would also enable employees to organise in trade unions, requiring platforms to consult with workers and their representatives on major decisions.

As Tom Montgomery writes in The Conversation, this may well put pressure on Britain’s Rishi Sunak to adopt similar protections, or face workers seeing their counterparts in Lisbon getting a better deal.

Working culture

I’m absolutely fascinated by the cultural shift we seem to be going through, from working to live, to living to work, inspired in part by the pandemic which made many of us ask, why am I even doing this? 

Journalist and author Simone Stolzoff argues that the live-to-work ideology has been ingrained into us for as long as capitalism itself, but it took the pandemic to fully illuminate the pitfalls of a work-centric existence.

While writing his new book,he learned a few tactics about diversifying your identity so our jobs don’t just take our best hours, but our best energy too. Here’s how to separate who you are from what you do. 

Simone Stolzoff is the author of The Good Enough Job: What We Gain When We Don’t Put Work First, available from Penguin Books.

Know someone who will love this newsletter? Share our sign-up article with your social networks. And why not check out Survival Guide, our newsletter on the cost of living crisis from my colleague Isabella McRae.

In the diary

Wednesday 14 June. Junior doctors to stage 72-hour walkout. 

Wednesday 28 June. Heathrow security guards start the first of a host of  three-day and four-day strikes, scheduled throughout July and August. These will affect Terminals 3 and 5, and impact airport crew checks. 

Saturday July 29. Event: Troublemakers at Work: Grassroots Trade Unionists conference 2023.

Animals with jobs 

Hot dogs need cool towels. And this adorable bathroom assistant needs a raise!

Does your cat/dog/garden fox/animal you saw on holiday participate in the daily grind? Nominate them today by sending me a photo to: evie.breese@bigissue.com

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