The call comes as Hong Kong swelters through an unusually hot summer – with temperatures hitting a record 36.9 degrees Celsius on August 9th, the highest since records began in 1884.
Chau Sze‑kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, said on a radio programme that the jacket has two fans installed near the lower back that blow air inside of it to help workers cope with extreme heat and humidity.
He suggested that laws be updated to require employers to provide the jacket to workers.
“The fan jacket really helps – every worker should have one. But the problem is, workers currently have to buy them themselves,” Chau said.
“So we’re asking whether our contracts or Labour Department regulations could be updated to make the fan jacket a mandatory part of personal protective equipment – just like a safety helmet.”
Speaking on the same programme, Lam Chun-sing, deputy chairman of the Legislative Council’s manpower affairs panel, urged the government to review the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance with inclusion of heatstroke as an occupational disease in mind.
“At the moment, heatstroke is not a condition covered under employee protection. There are 48 statutory occupational diseases listed in the regulations,” he said.
“Of course, if a worker can prove that their heatstroke is directly related to their work, they can still claim compensation – that’s what the law says. But in practice, this arrangement is unrealistic, because it’s very difficult to prove that link.”
The Labour Department and the Observatory are working on improvements to the Heat Stress at Work Warning system with the aim of to announcing the changes by the end of this month.