Construction Protocol for Heatwave Approved

As Spain endures yet another heat wave this summer and temperatures soar, the Government is taking measures to protect construction workers during the hottest period of the year. The National Construction Confederation (CNC), CC.OO (The Worker’s Commission and UGT FICA (labour union) have issued a protocol for the construction sector to address life-threatening high temperatures.

In the past, workers have died working under strenuous conditions in the searing heat over the years, including, most recently, a 47-year-old agricultural worker in Seville in June.

There will be three levels of alerts that will be aligned with the State Meteorology Agency’s  (AEMET) heat-risk warnings, using a colour-coded system of green, yellow and orange-red alerts.  The protocol will be applied indefinitely to construction sites, outdoor workplaces and work spaces that, due to the activity carried out, cannot be closed due to the risk of exposure to high temperatures.

The new protocol establishes different general recommendations including dietary guidelines, the use of appropriate clothing, taking breaks and adapting work schedules to the cooler hours of the day. With an orange or red alert, workers should not carry out their work unsupervised, sun protection and water should be provided, and the tasks that require the greatest physical effort should be limited to hours with the least sun exposure. First aid training for heat stroke will be provided to employees.

The protocols will also address jobs that require intense physical effort, or handling of materials which heat up excessively in the sun, such as metal structures and rebar.

If the normal working schedule is interrupted, work may resume on the same day when warnings are no longer in place, and flexibility to the start and end of the working schedules will allow for hours to be brought forward and/or postponed. The protocol also dictates that 70 per cent of the working hours on days affected by the orange or red warning will have to be recovered within the following 6 months.