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In today's The Straits Times, we explore how increasingly hot weather is affecting outdoor workers in Singapore. It's a package that took a while to put together because it involved speaking to a range of workers, their employers, government agencies and scientists. Outdoor workers are incredibly vulnerable and heat is taking a growing toll of many of them, from construction crews to food delivery riders. The good news is that some fairly simple steps, such as regular rest breaks to access to cooling drinks and shaded areas, can reduce some of the risks. The government here has rolled out a range of mandatory and recommended steps for employers. But as the mercury keeps rising, the risks will only grow and that will affect all of us because we rely so much on the jobs these workers do every day. My colleague Shabana Begum D/O Nazeer looks at the construction sector and how acclimatisation programmes help new workers or those returning from leave to gradually adjust to the tropical heat. Shabana and Elise Wong also look at how security guards are affected by the heat. I talked to motorcycle delivery riders, many of whom are struggling with the twin challenges of rising heat and longer hours to make ends meet. This is a dangerous mix because riders can easily become fatigued and this affects their judgement and raises the risks of heat injury or an accident on the road. Thanks to Yufeng Kok for helping out on this story. This group is also highly vulnerable because government-mandated steps to protect workers on very hot days are much harder to enforce for riders, who are highly mobile and driven to complete as many deliveries as they can each day. I also look at port workers, another vulnerable group, such as engineers who service the giant cranes that load and unload containers, and the lashing crews that secure and release the containers on the ships. Thanks to Jason Kai Wei LEE at the National University of Singapore's Heat Resilience and Performance Centre. He gave us excellent insights into the risks from heat and a reality check on how much we still have to learn from how it affects workers and how best to protect them. Lots more data from government agencies would definitely help, too. Thanks, too, to Mathew Mathews at the NUS Institute of Policy Studies. And to Yuka Ujita at the International Labour Organization #Singapore #climatechange #heat #OutdoorWorkers #PlatformWorkers #FoodDelivery #PortWorkers #Maritime #HumanHealth #WorkerRights #Resilience #Scicomms #ConstructionWorkers #Construction Ministry of Manpower PSA Singapore Grab Deliveroo foodpanda https://lnkd.in/gz7NFWqr