Employers should provide salary earners who work at temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius with two to four liters of drinking water a day to each employee. Victor Turcan, division head at the State Labor Inspectorate, has told IPN that the law does not specify the jobs that necessitate increased protection measures during hot weather. All those who work in conditions of thermal risk are to be protected by employers.
The employer has the right to modify the working regime so that the workers are less exposed to thermal risks such as sunstroke and sunburn. In particular, this refers to employees from agriculture, who are directly exposed to sunlight. It is recommended that in the case of jobs in the open air, shelters should be set up for workers to restore their thermal balance. The employer should also provide them with protection means against sunburn.
During the carried out checks, labor inspectors identified employers who violate the legislation as their employees worked at temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius, especially in agriculture and the building sector. Such situations definitely have consequences. Not long ago, a person who worked in the fields in such conditions died, said Victor Turcan.
As regards the drinking water that should be given to employees during hot weather, many employers respect this provision. There were cases when employers modified the working hours and these started one hour earlier, included a longer break and continued in the evening.
Victor Turcan said there are no statistics about the areas of activity where most of the work accidents happen during hot weather. But the largest number of accidents at work in the course of the year is reported in agriculture and the building sector. Last year there were reported 416 occupational accidents, while this year there were 186 accidents, 18 of which resulted in death.
A sum of 12,000 lei is the heaviest fine faced by an employer for violating the labor legislation and for not obeying the working rules.
