[discussion] outdoor workers cryogenic operation protection? There is no uniform policy for cryogenic labor insurance

"It's not an exaggeration. Washing hands with cold water on duty is hot. In the first 10 minutes, the hands and toes begin to sting after half an hour, and they slowly feel numb." One stood on the street at minus 25 degrees Celsius. Half-hour Heilongjiang traffic policeman Zhang Wenyu told reporters that even "warmth underwear + sweaters + down jackets + jackets" "soles with hot stickers" and other "armed" and could not bear to cut cold like a knife.

Due to the influence of stronger cold air, the low-temperature freezing mode was recently opened. Traffic police, sanitation workers, couriers... These workers who protect our lives at low temperatures, how can they also warm their hands? How to do a better job of cryogenic labor protection? Our reporter conducted an interview.

No clear and unified policy has been formulated for “low-temperature labor insurance”

What kind of work environment is considered low temperature operation? According to the National Standard for Cryogenic Operations, in the production labor process, the operation where the average temperature of the workplace is equal to or lower than 5 degrees Celsius is the low temperature operation. According to the work site temperature and low temperature operating time rate, low temperature operation is divided into four levels, the higher the level of cold intensity.

In the “Classification and Catalogue of Occupational Diseases” issued in 2013, two kinds of occupational diseases were added to the classification of occupational diseases caused by physical factors. One of them was “frost injury” involving cryogenic workers. "Cold can cause some physiological reactions such as skin temperature decrease, peripheral vasoconstriction, chills, etc. It will also affect labor ability and work efficiency. When it is severe, it can cause cold injury or induce and aggravate certain conditions such as asthma and ischemic. Heart disease, etc., there is the possibility of freezing and freezing in outdoor accidents," said Lin Ying, deputy chief physician of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

High-temperature operations include the Measures for the Management of Sunstroke-preventing Cooling Measures. It is clear that employers should implement labor protection measures, reduce outdoor operations during high-temperature periods, and laborers enjoy post allowances according to law. However, there are no similar systems or specific management measures for cryogenic operations and labor protection. Individual provinces have clear criteria for low-temperature allowances. For example, in Inner Mongolia, relevant regulations were issued in 2013, and workers who worked continuously for more than 4 hours (inclusive) or more in cold weather below -25 degrees Celsius (inclusive) or below had an allowance of 230 yuan per month.

"I know that there is a high-temperature allowance. I really haven't heard of the low-temperature allowance." Some of the outdoor workers who the reporter visited randomly answered. Why does the degree of concern for low-temperature labor protection appear to be lower than that for high-temperature labor insurance?

One point of view is that one of the reasons is that the occupational cases of frostbite caused by low temperature are far less than those caused by high temperature. "If it is a very high temperature, people do more physical work, enthusiasm may be very sudden. Low temperature on the human body will have a gradual process." Lin Ying said.

Liu Xiaoqian, a lecturer at the China Labor Relations Institute, said that low-temperature allowances should be compensated by environmental factors in labor remuneration. In reality, most companies will independently determine whether to issue and issue standards.

Wang Hui, the Jingdong distributor in Chaoyang District, Beijing, told reporters that he can get a 3-month low-temperature subsidy of RMB 300 per month. “One-hundred-seven-hundred and eighty days a day, and stay outside for 10 hours, The cold weather in the recent days is really straightforward. Although there are not many subsidies, it is also a comfort."

Need the individual's good-hearted care, but also call for institutionalized labor insurance measures

"Without shipping, the weather is cold. Please help me give the takeaway brother himself and the sanitation workers who work in cold weather." "The courier brother, Xue Dalu rushed in time, hot tea is for you..." In recent days, many orders for take-out warm heart are full of energy. In addition, the love station on the street offering hot drinks also presents warmth for the cold winter.

For workers who work at low temperatures, understanding from the individual's care is important. Normative labor insurance measures and normalization of warmth are also essential.

Experts believe that it is more difficult to control the temperature than high-temperature operation. If the cryogenic operation is in place, severe frostbite rarely occurs. “The temperatures of human hands and joints at cryogenic temperatures drop the fastest. If you wear cold gloves, protective clothing, etc., and keep your hand’s skin temperature above 15.5 degrees Celsius, it will generally not affect the operation of the hand and ensure the safety of operation.” Lin Ying said that aching and chills are dangerous signs of hypothermia. When chills are obvious, the work should be terminated and warmed into the warm room.

“We are now in a one-and-a-half-hour shift and we can enter the house from time to time to warm up for a while. Compared with the low-temperature allowance, I would like to improve the clothing and shoes. It is both warm and light, while maintaining safety. And environmental sanitation workers are high-risk occupations that shuttle through traffic and people. Now the cotton garments made by the units are hard and heavy, and their warming effect is not enough, said Zhang Wenyu.

Recently, the U.S. delegation took out a rider’s warm clothes. “The heating suit uses carbon fiber heating technology. It is cut into a vest style. The temperature is divided into three stalls: 45 degrees Celsius, 55 degrees Celsius, and 65 degrees Celsius. It takes only 1 hour to get 4 to 6 Hours of heat supply.” The relevant person in charge of the US group’s takeaway told reporters that the new heat-producing suits have been put into use in Beijing, Harbin, Manzhouli, and Jiuquan, and other regions are also stepping up their issuance.

Liu Xiaoqian believes that the impact of low temperature on workers is different due to different geographical, climate, and occupational types of work. It is possible to try to introduce industry consultation mechanisms on a geographical basis and establish industry consultations among governments, labor unions, and employers to determine the conditions and standards for low-temperature subsidies within certain regions of a given industry.

In addition, benchmarking companies can also be established to promote the expansion of low-temperature subsidies through the power of the labor market. "In salary management, the degree of work environment and conditions are different, and the wage curve obtained when positioning wage levels is also different. Model enterprises will usually consider various factors including environmental factors to determine a reasonable wage level. To achieve its competitiveness in the labor market." Liu Xiaoqian said.