32.5 degree signal – union developed heat app for construction workers

The Bau-Holz trade union, the environmental organization Global 2000 and the Chamber of Labor have developed the heat app for construction workers. A “real-time interface” to the nearest measuring point of the Central Institute of Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) is established via the mobile phone. If the 32.5 degrees are reached in the shade, a warning signal follows. The current values ​​of the nearest ZAMG measurement point are already valid, but the employee has not had access to them until now.

Goes heat-free for a few hours
All in all, it should only be a few hours without heating, not whole days, as the high temperature isn’t usually reached until midday or afternoon, according to the union. “By this time, construction workers had already been working hard for up to eight hours,” representatives said. The heat regulation provides for continued payment of 60 percent for the employees, this money plus 30 percent additional wage costs is reimbursed to the employer by the holiday and departure fund for construction workers (BUAK).

At the moment, however, there is no legal claim; the employer must first order a heat-free period. The new app must now ensure that the legal admission requirements are met. “In this way all employees know whether there is a possibility to be heat-free”, it says.

Cold app from November
From November 1, the app switches to cold and informs employees as soon as minus 10 degrees Celsius is reached. People who work in extreme heat, but also in extreme cold, need special protection, Chamber of Labor president Renate Anderl said in a broadcast. The app is already available for download.