Heat allowances sought for workers

A watermelon vendor bites into one of his fruits to beat the heat at a vegetable market in Bozhou, Anhui province, on Tuesday, when the temperature soared to above 35 C.(Source: China Daily)
As a heat wave bakes most of the country, labor experts are calling for diversified allowances to guarantee outdoor workers' health.

Heat allowances are not compulsory nationwide and are especially unlikely to be provided for migrant construction workers, Capital University of Economics and Business labor economics department professor Lu Xuejing said.

"The government should issue regulations protecting outdoor workers' health, especially because extreme weather is becoming more common," she said.

Employers could also reschedule shifts for cooler times of day, shorten working hours and provide heatstroke-prevention medications as forms of heat allowances, she added.

Her call for a relevant law to be passed as soon as possible was echoed on Tuesday by Wang Yazhi, director of the labor protection department of the Hebei Provincial Federation of Trade Unions.

The only regulation protecting workers laboring in extreme heat was passed in 1960. In 2007, four ministries issued a notice saying employers should pay allowances to those whose work environment exceeds 35 C.

Source: China Daily
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