Mail carriers have criticized the government’s request for its agencies to turn off air-conditioning between 1pm and 3pm for two weeks to save electricity, saying that they would be more susceptible to heat-related illnesses if they are asked to work in an enclosed environment without cool air.
The Executive Yuan ordered implementation of the measure to raise the nation’s operating electricity reserve after a transmission tower at Heping Power Plant last week fell over due to Typhoon Nesat.
The policy also stipulated that the air-conditioning temperature should be set no lower than 28?C.
Following the order, state-run Chunghwa Post asked that the air-conditioners in all of its facilities be turned to fan mode or be shut down between 1pm and 3pm.
Mail carriers begin deliveries at 8:30am and return to the office between 12:30pm and 1pm, the hottest part of the day, Chunghwa Post Workers’ Union president Cheng Kuang-ming (鄭光明) said.
“When they return from delivering mail, their body temperature could reach 40?C, but they happen to return when the air-conditioning is supposed to be switched off,” Cheng said.
“Working in a enclosed environment without air-conditioning could cause them to suffer heat stroke, heat exhaustion or other heat-related illnesses,” he added.
Carriers working in the nation’s center and south would have an even harder time than those in the north, as the weather there is hotter, Cheng said, adding that even though they were told that they can open windows, the wind that blows inside is often hot.
“From pension reform to the power shortage problem, the government has been enforcing its policies starting with civil servants, but it should consider the conditions faced by different workers and set different standards accordingly,” he said, adding that the union has to speak up for its members.
Chunghwa Post said that the company has created a contingency plan in response to the Executive Yuan’s order and that air-conditioners would be turned on in post offices and the mail processing departments nationwide.
The company is also to ensure that air-conditioners are functioning at a proper temperature, it said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to