Hong Kong’s revised heat stress warning system may lack rest provisions: experts
Hong Kong’s outdoor workers could still lack adequate rest under the revamped heat stress warning system, a lawmaker and a construction industry representative have said, adding that work breaks triggered by higher alerts are not protected by law. The response followed the Labour Department’s announcement on Thursday that it had updated the Heat Stress at Work Warning system to better safeguard…
Hong Kong’s revamped heat stress warning system for outdoor workers may not provide sufficient rest provisions, warn experts. Lawmaker Lam Chun-sing, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, stated that the revised system should extend rest periods for workers with moderate workloads under the highest black warning, similar to the mandatory suspension during extreme typhoon conditions.
The current system has three levels: amber, red, and black, triggering employer and employee alerts based on the Hong Kong Heat Index, which considers temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation. When the amber warning is active, employers must arrange extra rest periods for affected workers, while red and black warnings require suspension for "heavy" and "very heavy" workload workers, respectively.
However, no rest provisions exist for workers with "light" or "moderate" workloads during black alerts. Lam emphasized that real-world observations may differ from the system's scientific measures and urged authorities to consider making the black warning a statutory requirement.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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