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The Occupational Safety and Health (Workers' Heat Exposure Code of Practice) Amendment Order 2023
(C.I.P. 231/2023)
Taking into account climate change and the increase in the frequency of cases of prevailing heat wave conditions, the Labour Inspection Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance informs that the Decree on the protection of workers from high temperatures has been issued by the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance. This Decree was issued on the basis of the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Laws of 1996 to 2020, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus today, 27.7.2023 and came into immediate effect upon its publication.
Subject to the provisions of the Ordinance, in any case of a Department of Meteorology warning issued for extremely high temperature, the following shall apply in the areas where the warning is in force:
(i) In the red danger level, all outdoor heavy and moderate work shall be required to cease during the hours when the warning is in force.
(ii) At the orange risk level, all outdoor heavy and medium work is required to stop between the hours of 12:00-16:00 while the warning is in effect.
(iii) Red and orange risk level requires that all work involving the transport and/or delivery of goods using two-wheeled vehicles (e.g. motorcycle, moped, bicycle) or personal mobility devices (scooters, e-scooters), such as the transport and/or delivery of goods/food/mail, between the hours of 12:00-16:00, while the warning is in effect, be stopped.
In all other cases, the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health (Code of Practice on Workers' Heat Exposure) Orders 2014 and 2020 (Decree 291/2014, Decree 206/2020) shall apply. Regarding the weighting of work, indicative examples of work are given in Table 13 of the Code of Practice below.
Table 13: Workload
| Workload Workload | Examples |
[TR] [TD]
Light
[/TD] [TD]Office Work, janitorial work, bench work with light tools, routine driving.
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]
Moderate
[/TD] [TD]Fence laying, concrete work, brick building, plastering, painting, flooring, tile laying, carving, hammering, carrying light objects, carpentry work, electrical work, plumbing work, mechanical work, mechanical work, installation of aluminium, installation of railings, asphalting work carried out by mechanical means.
[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]
Heavy
[/TD] [TD]Intensive manual work, processing and placing reinforcement, assembling/disassembling moulds, digging or breaking hard materials with mechanical tools/devices/machinery weighing more than 15 kg, paving work carried out by manual means.
[/TD] [/TR]
For more information, interested parties may consult the website of the Technical Inspectorate at Thermal Stress and/or contact the Inspectors at the local District Offices of the Department, at the following telephone numbers:
Nicosia: 22879191
Limassol: 25827200
Larnaca: 24805327
Paphos: 26822715
Famagusta: 23819750
(AF/SX)
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