More than 90 percent of workers surveyed said they would agree to an amendment requiring employers to allow leave on days when temperatures are high, job bank yes123 said yesterday.
Among those surveyed, 93.2 percent said they would support mandated leave on days of high heat, while about 50 percent said that such a policy should be restricted to certain types of jobs and industries.
A total of 67 percent said they have to work outdoors during the summer months from June to August, 53.3 percent said their companies do not take the initiative on preventing heat-related injuries among workers.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
A total of 79.2 percent of respondents said they have no desire to work when temperatures are high, and the heat affects their efficiency by making them tired, impatient and irritable.
Surveyed workers also said they tend to spend more money in summer, as they need to buy cold beverages, ice cream, sunscreen, and summer clothing such as short-sleeved shirts and skirts.
Based on survey data, an average worker in Taiwan spends an average NT$2,433 extra in summer months, which is equal to roughly NT$66.8 billion (US$2.14 billion) in consumer spending nationwide, yes123 said.
Yes123 spokesman Yang Tsung-pin (楊宗斌) said employers should ensure that employees working outdoors have ample cooling, stay hydrated and get adequate rest in order to prevent heat-related work injuries.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration Director-General Tzou Tzu-lien (鄒子廉) yesterday said that the Ministry of Labor would collect more data and look into the issue of legislating heat-related work leave.
Tzou also said that employers should take measures to prevent heat-related injuries.
Those regulations were for places with boilers, stoves, blast furnaces and other heat sources, Tzou said.
For outdoor work, such as on construction sites, the ministry requires employers to provide shading and to make assessments of heat-related hazards, he said, adding that there could be discussion on improvements to those regulations.
The survey was conducted through the yes123 Web site from July 5 to 18, and a total of 1,302 valid responses were received.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS