"Not Everyone Is Feeling the Heat the Same Way in China" 20 July 2022

Under the burning sun in a temperature of 33 degrees Celsius, 48-year-old Dang Jianbin is sorting out dozens of packages outside an office building near the second ring road of Beijing. It’s almost lunch time, but he hasn’t had his breakfast yet. Dang’s only hope on such a hot day is to finish sending all the packages to their owners early and rest in the shade. [...]

This month, a construction worker in Xi’an died from heat stroke after working in the hot and humid environment for nine hours. The family was originally denied financial compensation after the incident because the man did not sign a contract with the construction company. But following a national outcry online and in media coverage, it was reported this week that the family said the company would pay for the funeral and provide some compensation. The incident has prompted discussion in Chinese news outlets and social media about how to protect workers in high-temperature environments as global warming means intense heat waves will become more common.

Although China issued a regulation a decade ago on how to manage work conditions in hot temperatures, such as limiting the working hours outdoors and increasing salaries, the implementation of the regulation lacks oversight, in reality. In a commentary piece published last week, the People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, urged certain government departments to do more to “improve their supervision work so that the regulations would not become something that only exist on paper.”

“To protect workers working in high temperature, regulations should have ‘teeth’ and be able to push the companies to fulfill their obligations,” the newspaper said.

The Ministry of Emergency Management, which is in charge of extreme weather policies, did not respond to a request for comment. [...]