Construction workers face the heat
Posted on: 02/May/2013 2:29:40 PM
Construction workers in city are having a difficult time as they work through the day under the intense summer sun. Although they try different ways to keep cool, it only helps for a short time. ‘I start work early these days, when the sun is not very harsh. I cannot avoid being exposed to the sun as my family depends on my earnings. I also cannot afford to take more than a one-hour break from work. I try to drink fruit juices and tea regularly’, says a construction worker from Korattur.
‘I sometimes sit in the shade and complete my work bending steel bars when it gets very hot. Some of us take turns taking a break for about two hours’, says another.
According to Past VP (South) of the Builders’ Association of India J.R. Sethimalingam, ‘Some builders say they help workers cope with the heat by supplying fruit juices on site and giving them short breaks from time to time… Labourers are allowed to take breaks between 12.30 p.m. and 3 p.m. The pouring of concrete is done in the night, when it is cooler. In this weather, productivity drops to 70 per or 80 per cent. But that is to be expected.’
