After noticing a large number of workers without protective equipment across the country, despite the tropical heat, inspector Zlatko Popović told us that there are not enough of them, and that only one is responsible for the coastal municipalities. The Association for Occupational Safety told us that employers should not only comply with regulations but also recognize risks and organize work accordingly.
Construction, municipal, and agricultural workers are the most exposed and at the same time the most endangered by high summer temperatures, which today reach nearly 40 degrees. The most obvious example and proof are the construction sites in the capital, where work does not suffer due to the extreme heat. However, workers, who we can see even in the hottest parts of the day, often without protective equipment, are indeed suffering. The law does not explicitly mention work at high temperatures, but two subordinate legal acts do, explains Zlatko Popović, chief inspector of the Directorate for Labor Protection and Health Inspection for Radio Montenegro.
„It is said that outdoor work, when the temperature is above 36 degrees Celsius, should not be performed except in cases of serious, immediate, and unavoidable danger, when human lives and material goods are at risk,“ he says.
Popović emphasizes that the construction sector is most often controlled and confirms that recommendations for working in high temperatures are most frequently violated at construction sites.
„This is characteristic only for Podgorica, Danilovgrad; these are mostly the most affected municipalities regarding high temperatures,“ Popović points out.
Staffing problems have become chronic in almost all inspection sectors, emphasizes Popović. The fact that there is only one occupational health and safety inspector in 5 coastal municipalities speaks volumes about this.
„With the systematization, in addition to the existing 10 occupational health and safety inspectors, four more positions have been opened, which we hope will be filled in the near future, especially in coastal municipalities where we currently have a permanently employed inspector only in Herceg Novi,“ he said.
That the obligations of employers are not only reflected in strict compliance with the law but also in recognizing risks and responsibly organizing work was stated by Đina Janković, the general secretary of the Association for Occupational Safety.
„In addition to existing legal solutions, it is necessary to develop modern preventive approaches, that is, to improve risk assessments, monitor weather forecasts when planning work activities, and what is very important, I want to emphasize, continuously educate employers and employees about the risks posed by extreme weather conditions.
Our interlocutors recommend that work be organized in the early morning or late evening hours, with more frequent breaks, sufficient amounts of water, and staying in cooled spaces.
The Directorate for Labor Protection and Health Inspection and the Association for Occupational Safety call on employees to report if they believe their health at work is endangered.
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