Employees reminded of right to heat compensation
- Source: Global Times
- [10:50 July 08 2010]
- Comments
Pedestrians use umbrellas to shelter from the blazing sun as they walk along the Bund Wednesday. Photo: AFP
By Zhou Ping
As the Shanghai summer heats up, experts have said that employees entitled to compensation for working in hot conditions need to protect their rights.
Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions issued a mandatory notice on July 1, 2007, announcing that companies and district authority employees should be paid an allowance when working in hot environments. Employers are required to pay no less than 10 yuan ($1.48) per day to employees who work outdoors in temperatures above 35 C, or who work in indoor environments that can not be cooled below 33 C.
"Not all companies follow these mandatory rules," Chen Guangqing, a lawyer from the Shanghai branch of the Zhongyin Law Firm, told the Global Times Wednesday. "Employees should be aware of this regulation, and turn to their local government's labor arbitration department for help if their employers do not observe it."
"Arbitration departments will handle disputes over compensation for working in the heat," a staffer surnamed Zhao from the law department of the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions told the Global Times Wednesday.
Sheng Limin, a small construction labor contractor, said that, while he had heard of the regulation, some people miss out on the allowance.
"In my experience, only those who work in very regular companies or for the government get paid the allowance," he said. "Few laborers in the construction field see the money. Rather, we are compensated by shortening the work hours and resting for longer on hot days. We are allowed to start work at 2 pm when the temperature climbs over 38 C."
According to Sheng, laborers rarely think about asking for the allowance. "The competition for work is severe and we feel satisfied just to get the salary," he said.
The Shanghai Metrological Bureau has said there will be at least 15 days this summer when temperatures will exceed 37 C.
