How Hong Kong can protect manual workers bearing brunt of heatwave

In Hong Kong, manual workers are suffering under a heatwave, with temperatures soaring to 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit). Workers like Yau, a construction laborer, spend up to HK$100 daily on water to combat the heat. Indoor workers, such as cleaner Zoe Ip, also struggle with stifling indoor conditions, reporting dizziness and dryness after just 20 minutes of work.

Union leaders and meteorologists are calling for heat-related illnesses to be added to the list of statutory occupational injuries and for the introduction of heat subsidies for water purchases. Wong Nai-yuen, chairman of the Cleaning Service Industry Workers Union, compared the proposed stipend to typhoon allowances for cleaners during heavy rain.

Former Observatory director Lam Chiu-ying noted a lack of reporting on heatstroke cases, suggesting mandatory reporting to the Labour Department. Despite the extreme heat, only a low-level alert was issued by the Labour Department. Construction worker Yau and cleaner Ip both advocate for more water stations and fans at their workplaces, and Ip urges society to better understand the physical toll of their work in the heat.