CCOO urges the Labor Inspection to address heat complaints in CórdobaCORDOVA
He Habitat Union of CCOO of Córdoba presented the campaign this Monday Before the waves of heatdemands prevention! which will take place throughout the summer to monitor compliance with the continuous day in the construction sector, a schedule that begins today in Córdoba and will extend until September 13thaffecting about 22,000 people in the province of Cordoba.
As reported by the union through a press release, Córdoba is the first Andalusian province to start the continuous day. “The high temperatures that we reached in the province of Córdoba, being one of the hottest provinces of Andalusia, requires us to establish a continuous working day in the construction sector to prevent workers from running risks to their health such as dehydration, dizziness, muscle cramps, sunburn or even fainting or loss of life due to so-called heat stroke,” said the acting General Secretary of the aforementioned CCOO Habitat Union of Córdoba, Esperanza Sanchez.
Sánchez recalled that “we are talking about a cyclical situationwhich is repeated year after year, is not something new and is increasingly seen aggravated by climate change”. So much so that, “last year, Royal Decree 4/2023 was approved, which prohibits carrying out certain tasks during those hours of the day that the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) issue notice of orange or red level and the preventive measures do not guarantee the protection of workers, potentially reducing or paralyzing the agreed continuous working hours,” said the union official.
Surveillance to enforce regulations
The acting General Secretary of CCOO of the Habitat of Córdoba has emphasized that the union will be vigilant so that the continuous day is fulfilledbut also for the application of the labor regulations in matters of prevention of occupational hazardsrequiring companies to provide workers with the PPE necessary to combat the risks derived from high temperatures such as sources of hydration, sun protection, shaded rest areas, ventilation or air conditioning, regular breaks, appropriate clothing, sunglasses, protective helmets with ventilation slots, etc.
In this sense, Sánchez has announced that “CCOO will visit the works of Córdoba capital and the province, just as we have done in previous years and we will not hesitate to report to the Labor Inspection to companies that fail to comply with the regulations on prevention and the collective agreement.”
“We demand that the Labor Inspection make these complaints urgent because failure to comply with the regulations for the prevention of occupational risks entails harm to people and even death”, claimed Sánchez, who has made it clear that CCOO “will be on site” because “then it is us, our workers, who have to go and bury, and we cannot allow that.”
On this issue, Esperanza Sánchez has regretted that in the face of “the four complaints that CCOO presented in Córdoba for non-compliance with labor regulations regarding high temperatures, the response of the Inspection was that the regulations were being complied with when the hottest day of the yearwith almost 46 degrees”, that is why they demand that he “enforce the day and the current regulations and sanction companies reported.”
