The Department of Labor Inspection (TEE) of the Ministry of Labor, Welfare and Social Insurance, invites all employers and all self-employed persons to stop work performed by their employees or themselves, exposed directly to sunlight at 12.00 until 17.00, due to the temperature and humidity conditions that are expected to create a very severe heat wave.
These conditions can endanger workers who are exposed to heat stress and / or seriously affect their health, according to a statement from the Department of Labor.
The Department of Labor, "following a previous recent announcement, for the implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health (Code of Practice for Thermal Stress of Employees) Decrees of 2014 and 2020 (KDP 291/2014 and K.D. 206/2020), the TEE reminds that "both employers and self-employed persons must measure in the places where they carry out work the parameters that contribute to the thermal stress".
According to the prevailing conditions of air temperature (in the shade) and relative humidity "they must adjust their work accordingly and apply a change of each work or rest or interruption of work, depending on the type of work performed, as well as other appropriate and sufficient measures (organizational and technical), in cooperation with the local Safety Representatives of the employees, to avoid or reduce the thermal stress ".
Settings include "organizing work time so that heavy work is done during the coolest hours of the day, arranging frequent short breaks to rest in a shady, cool place or in a well-ventilated area or in a fan area where possible and shaping / selecting a shady part or constructing suitable shelters for the execution of the works, where this is possible ".
They also include "rotation of employees at work depending on the type of activity performed, avoidance where possible of strenuous work in the countryside during the hottest hours of the day (12: 00-16: 00), provision of cool drinking water to employees (temperature 10 - 15οC), administration and use by employees of a suitable head covering and use by employees of light, loose-fitting clothing (such as cotton) and use of appropriate sunglasses ".
According to the provisions of the Code of Practice (Tables 12 and 13), for temperature conditions 39οC to 44οC series of work must be interrupted, depending on the type and severity of the work.
The Department of Labor classifies light work, office work, supervision, work on a bench with light tools, normal driving.
Moderate work includes "fencing, concreting, bricklaying, plastering, painting, flooring, tile laying, carving, forging, lightweight transportation, carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, plumbing, non-plumbing , asphalt paving works carried out by mechanical means ".
Heavy work is considered "intense manual labor, processing and installation of reinforcement, assembly / disassembly of molds, digging or breaking of hard materials with mechanical tools / devices / machines weighing more than 15 Kg, asphalt paving works carried out by manual means".
For more information, those interested can be informed from the website of the TEE in the section Thermal Stress and / or contact the Inspectors at the local District Offices of the Department of Labor.