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- Chongqing seeks residents' opinions in drafting new labor protection decree
Date: 16-Apr-2007 Sources: (Xinhua Online)
Some residents of this mountainous city, one of the hottest in China, are suggesting 35 degrees Celsius, not 40 degrees, should be the temperature when outside workers don't have to report for work.
The city has said it will pass a regulation that allows workers to stop working when it gets too hot outside. It held a three-hour hearing on Tuesday seeking suggestions.
The hearing, which was attended by 60 representatives, was also broadcast online. Most of the participants endorsed the idea of allowing essential workers to have shortened work days and be provided with cold drinks.
However, one of the participants to the hearing, Liu Jiefeng, contends 35 degrees Celsius should be the temperature when the law takes effect not 40 degrees as suggested by the draft by-law.
'When the weather forecast says it will be 35 degrees Celsius, the temperature of the actual working environment is usually much higher than that.'
Liu found an ardent opponent in Pi Li, who represents Chongqing City Federation of Trade Unions. Pi said there are too many days between May and October when the temperature in Chongqing reaches 35 degrees and not enough work would get done if it was accepted as the high temperature.
Luo Quanshui, a worker from Chongqing Public Transport Group, also says a forecast temperature doesn't represent work place temps. 'When it is 38 degrees Celsius outside, the temperature inside a bus without air conditioning can reach 50 degrees Celsius.'
More than 3,000 un-air conditioned buses ply the streets of Chongqing.
'Last year, some bus companies placed blocks of ices in buses in order to bring down the temperature,' said Luo.
No matter where the benchmark temperature is set, it will be business as usual, however, for workers in air-conditioned environments. Essential workers, such as bus drivers, will have shortened work days and be provided with beverages, according to a draft of the new regulation.
The draft regulation, which is expected to take effect in June, also includes a hot weather allowance which will be paid to outside workers between July and September.
This city received more than 110,000 comments on the draft regulation from internet users.
The city experienced a nightmarish summer last year with a prolonged heat wave and drought. In some parts of the city, there were 25 successive days when the temperature was officially reported to have climbed above 40 degrees.
On Aug. 15 the temperature reached 44.5 degrees in Qijiang County, the highest temperature since records began to be kept 53 years ago. Some 20,000 people suffered sunstroke. Most of them were at work.
Already this spring Chongqing's temperatures are again higher than normal with the mercury passing 33 degrees on some days in March.
The proposed new regulation would also ban employers from forcing employees to work unprotected under the sun between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. if the temperature is projected to be 39 or above.
Employers who violate the law may face fines up to 20,000 yuan (2,564 U.S. dollars) and will be prosecuted if the health of workers is jeopardized.
China's labor law does not have specific clauses on working in hot weather.
The southern boom city Shenzhen ruled in 2005 that outdoor workers should stop working when the temperature reaches 40, and should work for no more than four hours a day when it hits 38.
Li Dianxun, director of Chongqing City Legislative Affairs Office, said the regulation is needed to protect workers during high temperatures.
He promised to adjust the new regulation based on the opinions they have received.
'I believe a high-temperature labor protection regulation will not only effectively protect outside workers in terms of health, safety and dignity, but also showcase the government's determination to no longer sacrifice resource consumption, environmental pollution or harm to people in exchange for higher gross domestic product.'
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