From what is macro to what is micro there is a piece and to know what happens to people so that they do not produce as much from the temperature of 32 degrees, with the consequent impact on the GDP that was described in the previous article, the it is better to ask directly the workers who are facing this situation.
Answers are obtained in the space that includes the Diagonal with Girona and Roger de Flor streets in Barcelona. It is Thursday, August 17 at 1 p.m., and the temperature, counting the humidity, reaches 33 degrees. In this environment, on the asphalt and surrounded by machines, dozens of workers work on the tram works. "You don't need to study, I'm already telling you that working like this is difficult; it's clear that you don't give up in the same way," says Wilson as he loads a wheelbarrow with debris.
Like other teammates, he wears a wet towel under his helmet to beat the heat. The regulation clothing they have to wear for safety doesn't help keep the temperature down. "Sweat more, but we have no choice. I cover myself even more, I cover my neck from behind with a cloth, because even though I'm dark I also get burnt", says another colleague. None explains having suffered dizziness or worse effects from the heat, "because we are careful". "We cool down, we drink a lot of water, we try to do the hardest work early... but we never stop, and it's difficult to move the schedule further because you can't make noise until eight in the morning," commented three others workers repairing a sidewalk in the vicinity of that area. "When the heat rises you end up shattered, more dusty, and on top of that you sleep worse", intervenes another. During the conversation, the case of the garbage man who died of heatstroke last year in Madrid comes up. "You have to be very careful."
This year, the Central Government approved a royal decree that obliges companies to take safety measures in case of extreme temperatures and the Labor Inspectorate has already carried out more than 6,000 actions during this 2023 due to occupational climate risk, according to the Ministry of Labor . From the unions, however, they consider that the rule has not changed the situation "substantially", comments Mònica Pérez, head of occupational health at CC.OO. Catalonia "It has been noticed in some aesthetic measures, such as giving water or caps, but we still find companies that do not take any measures", he regrets. Antònia Fuentes, secretary of occupational health of UGT-Fica, considers that the new rule provides more tools to protect safety in view of the high temperatures, although it must improve monitoring and control, with more inspection. "The fines are also not very high and sometimes it is cheaper for the company to pay them than to implement the mandatory measures", he explains.
And if the employer completely disregards the worker, as is the case with fake freelancers, the problem is even more bloody. This is how the large group of riders who wait to collect orders at the corner of Calle Enric Granados and Diagonal express it. Most of them are not hired by the home delivery platform they work with despite the law and their busiest time coincides with the highest temperatures. "You have to control yourself; the other day I almost got dizzy riding my bike up Carrer Amigó, because I already had a few orders," says one of them. For them, the recommendation not to do physical exercise during the central hours of the day is wet paper.
