[ad_1]
The GBH construction union is unhappy with the current heat exemption regulations, given that statistics show that the number of hot days is increasing. In the summer of 2024, the number of heat-free days in June and July will be much less than in the entire summer of last year. “This is extremely unsatisfactory,” criticized GBH boss Josef Muchitsch (SPÖ), and called on the APA to make legal adjustments to the employee protection law in response to climate change.
Last year, about a quarter of construction hackers were granted more or less heat-free time throughout the summer. According to Muchiqi, this ranged from an hour to several afternoons. This year, a preliminary assessment of information from June and July shows that only about one in ten construction workers received a heat exemption. The hot August has not yet been assessed here – the high temperatures in the south and east of the country are currently continuing into September, with highs of up to 35 degrees Celsius.
“In June and July, there were just over 9,000 construction workers who received heat exemptions,” Muchich said. “Last summer, there were 23,000.” Of the total 135,000 construction workers, about 100,000 will be working outdoors and therefore potentially affected by the heat.
No obligation
As has been widely reported, the construction industry has special thermal regulation. This allows companies to keep employees away from temperatures above 32.5 degrees. There is no obligation – of course, not all employers use this option. If heating is provided, both the employee and the employer are entitled to compensation from BUAK’s bad weather fund (Construction Workers Holiday and Severance Fund), which they also fill together.
The unions are tackling the issue on two levels: first, raising awareness, and second, developing a regulation that, in their view, is more effective than the current voluntary regulation. Muchić reiterated the unions’ call for legal adjustments. The Blue-Green government has postponed such an application and wants to find a solution based on social partnership. The Social Democrat and FSG boss is against this: “The requirement to wear a seat belt while driving is only valid if it is provided for by law – and then not voluntary. We may also have to adapt the law on employee protection to climate change”.
Need more rest time
This is not about reducing the workload. Construction often starts so early that by the time the temperature reaches 32.5 hours, work is often already underway for eight hours. So you could legally limit working hours in hot weather to eight hours. In addition to the construction industry, other areas also need more breaks, such as the health sector or workers in hot production workshops. Cooling measures such as shading and air conditioning could also be implemented, the GBH boss said. In any case, certain employee protection laws need to adapt to the new climate conditions.
To avoid potential disputes between employers and unions about the actual temperature during construction, both companies now obtain the values from the same measuring station. The official measurements from Geosphere Austria at the station closest to the construction site (postal code) are used. Muchitsch says the specially created GBH Heat App proactively provides information about the current temperature and provides construction workers with safety when there is no heat.
The politician and trade unionist stressed that heatless days “always last for a few hours in the afternoon” and he also advocated a change in the way tenders are issued. After all, in large parts of Austria, construction can now be carried out throughout the winter – and this method should be used more often, instead of “the old idea of having construction workers clock in during the winter – which depends on tenders”.
[ad_2]
Source link
