Builders tweak work hours to save construction workers from heatstroke

CHENNAI: The death of a 25-year-old construction worker from heat stroke has turned attention to the safety of people working outdoors, especially construction workers, as mercury levels keep rising. The construction sector, on its part, is trying to tweak the work pattern of labourers by alternating between indoor and outdoor work during peak heat hours.

With heat levels continuing to remain high, the unorganised sector workers are raising the need for safe work environments. The death of construction worker Sachin, a native of Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh-reportedly the first victim of the blistering heat in Tamil Nadu- has reinforced the need to protect outdoor workers from heat-related complications at their workplace.

According to healthcare experts, construction workers are the most vulnerable to heat stroke as they work without proper safety gear in the open. Since they are involved in tedious work under direct sunlight, it affects the heat regulation mechanism of their body. It would result in heat stroke and turn fatal if not given proper medical care at the earliest.

Sachin (25) from Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, is one of the thousands of migrant workers earning a living as construction workers in the State. He was working in Kancheepuram district and was diagnosed with heat stroke and rhabdomyolysis (a condition that causes muscles to break down and leads to muscle death). He was declared dead at 3.30 am on Sunday in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH).

Apart from the migrant worker, Sachin, yet another construction worker - Velu - was admitted to the RGGGH for heat stroke, and he is under medical observation. “He is recovering now, “ said Dean of RGGGH E Theranirajan.

Medical experts and unorganised workers’ welfare boards appealed to the developers and their associations to take precautionary measures and change the labourers’ working pattern to keep them from exposure to direct sun, particularly from 12 pm to 3 pm.

Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Construction Welfare Board, Pon Kumar, told DT Next that they have appealed to the builders during the May Day programme to take precautionary measures to guarantee the safety of the workers. “Nearly 30 lakh workers of the unorganised sector are dying every year due to industries-related accidents and diseases. Soaring temperatures and heat waves due to climate change have also become a threat to the unorganised workers,” Pon Kumar said, quoting the International Labour Organisation’s report.

They would flag the issue to the government in the coming days and take appropriate measures to guarantee the safety of the workers, he added and noted that there were around 25 lakh registered members in the TN construction welfare board in the state. A significant number of construction workers are yet to be registered.

Vice president of CREDAI Nation S Sridharan said that the government has issued an advisory regarding heat wave preparedness and mitigation. “We provide adequate drinking water and have arranged buttermilk for the workers. The working pattern is tweaked according to the site condition, and the labourers are mostly engaged in indoor work during peak heat hours between 11 am and 3 pm, “ he said.