Introduce guidelines on working during heatwave, DOSH urged

 

Daily temperatures have reached between 35°C and 37°C recently.

PETALING JAYA: The occupational safety and health department (DOSH) has been urged to release guidelines to safeguard the wellbeing of workers during the current heatwave.

Health and safety expert Wong Soo Kan said although DOSH has guidelines on heat stress management at workplaces, the heatwave phenomenon currently sweeping across the country is something “totally different” and requires specific attention.

FMT understands that DOSH does not have any specific guidelines relating to the heatwave.

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Last week, the meteorological department (MetMalaysia) issued a level one heatwave alert for eight districts in the peninsula, after daily temperatures reached between 35°C and 37°C for three consecutive days.

“In the current heatwave, DOSH should come out with steps to minimise heatwave exposure and identify the precautions to be taken, similar to their Covid-19 guidelines during the pandemic,” Wong told FMT.

“Maybe DOSH can look into dividing workers into two groups, with one group working for four hours in a heat stress environment, and the other group working for the rest of the day in a normal environment.”

Wong, who has been involved in the occupational safety and health industry since the 1980s, said he is surprised DOSH has not published guidelines for limiting working hours for workers in heat stress environments.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) council member A Sivananthan called on both employers and DOSH to do more to safeguard the safety and health of workers during the heatwave.

Using manufacturing factories as an example, he said many employers are still unwilling to air-condition their premises.

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“They feel this heatwave could be a temporary phenomenon, so why put in extra money?” he said.

Sivananthan said workers also fear that they will be reprimanded if they raise concerns about the heat with their managers.

He called on DOSH to make more frequent visits to workplaces to see how workers are coping with the situation. - FMT