As of this Monday, intensive working hours in the construction sector have begun to be applied throughout the province of Córdoba with the aim of avoiding heat strokes that could cause damage to the health of workers due to the high summer temperatures. The measure will last for 57 days, that is, until next September 13so “it will be the longest in Andalusia and also in recent years.”
This was announced by the acting general secretary of the Habitat Federation of Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), María Esperanza Sánchez, who confirmed that This intensive shift affects around 21,900 workers of construction throughout the province. The beginning of the measure coincides with a week in which, until its equator, the maximum temperatures in the province will be around 30 degrees, even slightly below, although on the way to the weekend they will begin to rise until reaching or exceeding the 35.
This Monday it has already been seen how different works in the capital of Cordoba apply the intensive day and also the resources obligated to companies so that their workers avoid the havoc of the high temperatures in the summer season. On the corner of Bulevar Hernán Ruiz and Avenida de América, the Spanish multinational Ferrovial Construcciones has work underway on a new Hotel Center, which is expected to be ready next December.
A 10-story building, four below ground level and six above, for which about 70 workers work daily. And all of them, as the project manager, Juan José Pérez, has explained, since this Monday they do it under a intensive schedule from 07:00 to 15:00. “From that time on, everything is cut off and when the temperature is higher than 35 degrees, starting at 12:00, they are advised to leave if excessive heat is noticed,” said the manager, who is grateful that “Daily talks are held regarding the measures to be taken in the face of high temperatures.”
As CCOO Córdoba has warned, with the heat there are many cases of dehydration, burns, dizziness, fainting and even loss of life in the worst cases. To avoid these situations, as indicated by the head of occupational risk prevention at the Hotel Center construction site, Juan José Pérez (shares first and last name with the construction manager), workers have at their disposal sunscreen dispensers, cold water dispensers and umbrellas for those outdoors and on lifting platforms.
“Everyone is insisted on hydration, doing a break approximately every hour and that, in the event of any symptom of discomfort such as dizziness, excessive sweating or loss of balance, they communicate it immediately to take preventive measures,” highlighted Juan José Pérez, who “daily” reminds workers that “they can give proposals to improve safety in the face of high temperatures.”
In another nearby work, that of the old courts of Córdoba, which is located in the Plaza de la Constitución, the company San José Constructora has also adapted from this Monday the schedule of its employees with an intensive shift from 07:00 to 14:00 . Something that workers celebrate, well Much of the façade does not get the sun in the morning.. As Jesús Povea, in charge of assembling the building’s screens, stressed, “the good thing is that what remains of the work is done inside and on the facades we play with the shadows that exist so as not to withstand the sun.”
“Last week the weather gave us a break because it wasn’t very hot and now that the high temperatures are coming it’s good that we leave at noon. The construction problem is work after eating, the food boils in your stomach“, emphasized Jesús, who assures that in this work in which about 50 people work daily, they have “cold water machines and hoses so that anyone who needs it can cool off.”
And, as the acting general secretary of CCOO has stressed, it is necessary “that companies provide the necessary personal protective equipment to combat heat risks such as sources of hydration, sun protection, shaded rest areas and air conditioners”, as well as “appropriate clothing such as protective helmets with ventilation slots and all those measures that can be implemented.” In addition, Sánchez recalled that, if there is a yellow or orange alert due to high temperatures, workers have the right to “retire to cooler work areas or have a reduction in working hours.”
