The labour inspections department on Wednesday for the second day issued the warning that outdoor heavy and moderate work is prohibited by law between 12 and 4pm in the inland, due the high temperatures.
The warning covers “all outdoor heavy and moderate work and work involving the transport or delivery of products, such as food or mail, by two-wheeled vehicles (motorcycles, moped, bicycle) or personal mobility devices (scooters and e-scooters),” the department said in its announcement.
The orange level warning for mandatory work stoppage, concerns areas of the interior, including Nicosia and Larnaca, from Athienou until Astromeritis, a spokesman for the department said, and any areas with an altitude of less than 300 meters which are more than 10 kilometres from the coast, as well as the mountainous areas at an altitude of more than 1150 metres.
In other cooler areas of the island, where the work stoppage order does not apply, the law still requires outdoor workers carrying out moderate to heavy work to implement appropriate health and safety measures to be facilitated by employers, and to monitor thermal load which is influenced by factors such as humidity.
Depending on prevailing conditions of air temperature and relative humidity, even in shaded areas, employers must adjust their workers’ activities accordingly, such as applying rotations and frequent short breaks and ensuring access to an area with AC or fans, to reduce heat stress.
Strenuous outdoor work during the hottest hours of the day must be avoided and workers should also be provided with drinking water at a temperature of 10-15°C and appropriate headgear, and should be advised to wear light, cotton clothing and sunglasses.
The department recommends avoiding large meals, sugary foods, and alcohol or caffeinated drinks.
Examples of moderate work are fencing, concreting, bricklaying, plastering, painting, flooring, tiling, carving, hammering, carrying light objects, carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, mechanical work, laying of aluminium, installation of railings, and paving carried out by mechanical means.
Heavy work is considered intensive manual labour, processing and building of foundations, assembling/disassembling formwork, digging or breaking hard materials with mechanical tools, devices or machines weighing more than 15 kg, and road asphalt paving.
(cyprus mail)
