Traffic enforcers, street sweepers get 30-min 'heat stroke' break

MANILA, Philppines - Traffic enforcers and street cleaners of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will get a 30-minute “heat stroke” break in the afternoon starting March 15.

Loida Alzona of the MMDA’s Health, Public Safety and Environmental Protection Office said the afternoon breaks would be observed until May 31.

Alzona said alternate breaks for the traffic enforcers and street cleaners will be scheduled from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. These are the hours considered to be the hottest during the dry season, the MMDA said.

"During these given periods, they will be allowed to leave their posts and go to a shaded area where they can still see the road they are monitoring," Alzona said.

Traffic enforcers working on the 6 p.m. to 2 p.m. shift are not entitled to the special break.

The MMDA said the heat stroke break will be done in rotation to maintain a skeletal force of one to two personnel on duty at any given time.

Meanwhile, the MMDA will also provide purified water and “heat stroke allowance” to its traffic enforcers and street cleaners who will be working the afternoon shift.

The MMDA stressed on the importance of keeping its personnel safe from heat stroke. In 2012, an MMDA traffic enforcer died from heat stroke.

The MMDA is also urging local government units in Metro Manila to give 30-minute breaks to their field personnel this dry season.

According to MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino, the practice of giving "heat stroke" breaks to outdoor workers is also being done in Dubai where the break is set from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Tolentino added that even the US Army and the US Marine Corps are aware of the dangers posed by heat stroke as they order their troops on location to take 20- to 40-minute breaks under the shade and hydrate.

The MMDA said that in early 2013, six South African traffic enforcers died in KwaZulu-Natal after being dehydrated and hit by heat stroke. In South Africa, dry season temperatures are above 30 degrees Celsius, similar to the temperature in Metro Manila, the MMDA said.