Hong Kong bosses not warm on new alert system protecting workers from heatstroke, say guidelines ‘hard to implement’
- Industry representatives point to work processes at construction sites, arguing halting one job type could affect production lines
- Labour unionist also says threshold for rest too high, given there have not been many heat index marks yearly that would trigger new alerts
The three-tier guidelines, announced on Monday and set to take effect next week, will advise employers on when staff should rest according to their job nature when temperatures soar.
“There will be great difficulties in actual execution. Workers at construction sites range from a few hundred to a few thousand with different duties. It’s hard for a foreman to comprehend everything,” Hong Kong Construction Association executive director Godfrey Leung King-kwok told a radio show, arguing operations would become “very confusing”.
Leung added that halting one work type could lead to delays down the production line as procedures were related.
He also lamented the industry having only a week to prepare for the “complicated” system, while the sector was still considering ways to implement the guidelines.
From May 15, the Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stress At Work will provide a three-tier warning based on the Hong Kong Heat Index, which was co-developed by the Observatory and Chinese University by calculating the relative humidity, intensity of sunlight and temperature recorded at the forecaster’s Tsim Sha Tsui station.
When the index hits 30, an amber warning will apply, with an upgrade to red or black when the mark reaches 32 or 34, respectively. Workers will be advised to suspend their duties or rest for periods of 15 to 45 minutes based on their categorised level of labour intensity.
