Building workers at risk as temperatures is set to rise above 40 degrees this week

As temperatures are set to hit 43 C towards the end of this week the issue of construction workers being exposed to extreme heat while working on site came to the fore.

President of the Cyprus Turkish Building Contractors Association, Cafer Gürcafer pointed out that a circular is printed every year warning of the danger of exposure to extreme heat, however it should be a legal requirement to protect construction workers from working in extreme temperatures.

Secretary General of the Chamber of Civil Engineers Abdullah Ekinci pointed out that peak hours to avoid exposure to sunlight are between 11am and 3pm.

While President of the Occupational Health and Safety Association (OHS), Güvenç Yüksel noted that necessary initiatives will be taken to take measures as soon as the air temperature exceeds the legal limit of 40 to 42 C.

Meanwhile, construction workers who spoke to Yeniduzen about this issue pointed to the reality that labour is cheap in North Cyprus and that no one would comply even if there were legal requirements to do so.

Yeniduzen