The Independent Workers' Union of the Balearic Islands (Siteib) has formally requested that the SMAP review the risk assessment for thermal stress and the action protocol against high temperatures.
The Independent Workers and Employees Union of the Balearic Islands (Siteib) has focused on the Municipal Society of Parking and Projects (SMAP) of Palma. The organization has sent a letter to the management and the health and safety committee to urgently review the risk assessment for thermal stress and the current action protocol against high temperatures.
Workers at their limit in summer
According to the union's complaints, employees working outdoors for SMAP endure a high thermal load during the summer. The combination of high temperatures, physical effort, and exposure to the climate turns their workday into a health challenge.
The situation affects both public street personnel and those working in facilities where the heat also rises. This includes underground car parks, BiciPalma bases, or ORA controllers.
Previous episodes of dizziness and heat strokes
Siteib has recalled that in recent years there have been cases of workers suffering from dizziness, falls, heat strokes, and other episodes compatible with thermal stress during their workday. Therefore, it demands to strengthen preventive measures to prevent these situations from recurring.
The union has also criticized that staff continue to work outdoors during episodes of high temperatures without sufficient adaptation of work organization. It believes that the current protocol has shortcomings, as it subordinates part of the measures to the records from the Aemet weather station at the port of Palma, which does not reflect the thermal conditions of the urban centre.
Prevention before reaction
Siteib rejects that prevention depends on devices that alert when the worker already shows symptoms of thermal stress. It argues that work organization must adapt to avoid exposure to heat, in line with occupational risk prevention regulations.
Among the measures it demands are the reorganization of schedules during episodes of intense heat, increasing preventive breaks, reviewing the current protocol, and assessing the risk of thermal stress under real working conditions.
The union has highlighted that other administrations and companies are already modifying schedules, reorganizing tasks, or limiting their staff's exposure during high temperatures. For Siteib, prevention should be based on avoiding exposure to heat rather than acting when the worker already shows signs of exhaustion.
The request comes in the middle of summer, when temperatures in Palma frequently exceed 30 degrees. SMAP workers hope that management will address their demands before new incidents occur.
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