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High temperature allowance woes
By Dong Zhen and Zha Minjie |
July 11, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NOT all workers due a monthly allowance for hot working conditions get it.
Employers who have staff working outdoors in summer or fail to keep the temperature of their indoor workplaces under 33 degrees Celsius should pay a 200-yuan monthly allowance from June to September, according to local labor regulations.
The mandatory rule covers all people working outdoors in summer, and indoor office workers without sufficient air conditioning.
Local labor authorities said "the situation has gotten better concerning the enforcement of the rule as checks are strengthened."
Some workers, however, say they are still left behind.
A deliver worker with sweat soaking his T-shirt was enjoying a brief respite walking through an air-conditioned Metro station yesterday.
"In the delivery business, whether we get the allowance mostly depends on how the boss looks at it," said the worker, surnamed Liu.
He did not get any allowance last year working for a small delivery company and has not yet this year, now that he works for a bigger one.
"Hopefully I can be taken care of this time," said the worker, who added that he is not quite sure about the allowance policy of his company.
Some delivery workers may get only a box of soft drinks for working in the heat.
They could report their employers to labor arbitration authorities and ask for compensation. Companies who fail to pay the allowance also may be punished by the Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, the local labor watchdog.
The issue can be tricky, however.
The labor bureau said they have received complaints from some salesmen who argued they also spent long hours every day outdoors making business visits. But since they are categorized as indoor workers with suitable air conditioning, their companies are not obliged to pay them the summer allowance.
The labor authority advised such workers to report the issue to their labor unions and ask for proper allowance distributions.
A leading headhunter website, 51job.com, said in a report that nearly 29 percent of the thousands of office workers it surveyed said they would like seasonal "flexible working hours" as an alternative form of summer allowance. It tops alternatives such as "being allowed a short holiday."
Employers who have staff working outdoors in summer or fail to keep the temperature of their indoor workplaces under 33 degrees Celsius should pay a 200-yuan monthly allowance from June to September, according to local labor regulations.
The mandatory rule covers all people working outdoors in summer, and indoor office workers without sufficient air conditioning.
Local labor authorities said "the situation has gotten better concerning the enforcement of the rule as checks are strengthened."
Some workers, however, say they are still left behind.
A deliver worker with sweat soaking his T-shirt was enjoying a brief respite walking through an air-conditioned Metro station yesterday.
"In the delivery business, whether we get the allowance mostly depends on how the boss looks at it," said the worker, surnamed Liu.
He did not get any allowance last year working for a small delivery company and has not yet this year, now that he works for a bigger one.
"Hopefully I can be taken care of this time," said the worker, who added that he is not quite sure about the allowance policy of his company.
Some delivery workers may get only a box of soft drinks for working in the heat.
They could report their employers to labor arbitration authorities and ask for compensation. Companies who fail to pay the allowance also may be punished by the Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, the local labor watchdog.
The issue can be tricky, however.
The labor bureau said they have received complaints from some salesmen who argued they also spent long hours every day outdoors making business visits. But since they are categorized as indoor workers with suitable air conditioning, their companies are not obliged to pay them the summer allowance.
The labor authority advised such workers to report the issue to their labor unions and ask for proper allowance distributions.
A leading headhunter website, 51job.com, said in a report that nearly 29 percent of the thousands of office workers it surveyed said they would like seasonal "flexible working hours" as an alternative form of summer allowance. It tops alternatives such as "being allowed a short holiday."
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