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.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS