"Hong Kong urged to better protect outdoor cleaners from heatstroke: NGO,"

An NGO has urged Hong Kong authorities to expand measures to better protect outdoor cleaners from heatstroke, with a poll revealing more than 86 per cent of workers have suffered heat exhaustion due to being unfamiliar with the city’s warning system.

Oxfam Hong Kong also said it was talking with authorities about launching a trial run for a smartwatch it invented alongside tech company WeWealth Electronic Innotech that can alert users when a hot weather warning has been issued.

The Labour Department in May 2023 launched a three-tier warning system – comprising amber, red, and black signals – to alert outdoor workers or those near heat sources to suspend work or rest for a period ranging from 15 to 45 minutes when temperatures reach more than 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).

The system was improved in May of this year amid criticism of its usability, with the detection time extended from 30 minutes to an hour to better capture heat stress fluctuations over a longer period and minimise repetitive warnings.

But Oxfam’s research team pointed out that cleaners, who seldom checked their phones at work, were often unaware of the warnings and carried on going out and about with their trolleys in the heat...

Separately, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and Occupational Safety and Health Association also interviewed 739 workers and found half of the respondents said the heat stress warning had not improved their working conditions.

The construction sector complained that the warning was not triggered even though on some days the workers had measured temperatures would go up to 40 degrees at the sites.

More than 60 per cent of the interviewees urged the government to review the guideline of “Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work” to ensure their safety in hot weather.