“The extreme heat of these days, caused by the so -called African bubble, is no longer an exception but a structural condition of the summer months in Calabria. The recorded temperatures are exceeding each endurance threshold, putting the health and safety of the workers exposed to the sun for serious risk for several hours a day, in particular in the sectors of agriculture, florovivaism and construction sites”.
The M5S group leader in the regional council said it in a note, Davide Tavernise who formally asked the president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiutoto “intervene urgently by issuing again, as already done last year, the order prohibiting the work in the hottest hours of the day, from 12:30 to 16, on days when the risk level is” high “according to the WorkClimate map for workers exposed to the sun with intense physical activity.
In 2024, in fact, with a specific ordinance, Occhiuto had established this prohibition “with immediate effectiveness and until August 31”, recognizing the need for an extraordinary measure pending a structural agreement between employers and trade unions. That order was rightly adopted also at the request of trade union organizations, to protect public health and to limit the impact of environmental thermal stress.
Today the conditions are similar, if not worse. Delaying further a common sense measure would be equivalent to ignoring the real risk to which hundreds of Calabrian workers are exhibited daily. Thermal stress is not a discomfort, but a serious threat to health and life.
The president Occhiuto shows institutional responsibility and social sensitivity: the ordinance immediately sign. There is no time to waste. “