How heatwaves are burning a hole in London’s economy

Workers’ rights campaigners said that more than 1,000 people had signed up to take part in a “heat strike” as employees struggled to cope in the heatwaves, backed by groups including the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union and the Trades Union Congress. Unite, which represents tens of thousands of construction workers, is calling for a maximum working temperature of 27C for sweaty manual jobs such as building work. Bricklayers downed tools, bakers including branches of Greggs shut shops, and in the City, even corporations with strict return-to-office mandates temporarily dropped them to allow working from home. JP Morgan, ING, Deutsche Bank, Nomura plus insurers M&G and Hiscox all allowed empty office desks last month.