Record-breaking temperatures are being felt by warehouse and factory workers with little or no cooling units.

The world recorded its hottest day ever on July 3rd — a record then beaten on July 4, 5, and 6 with average temperatures going up to 17.23°C. According to scientists, July was on track to be the world’s hottest month on record.

While extreme temperatures are being felt globally, warehouse and factory workers in Jamaica have had to endure the effects of climbing temperatures while working indoors in concrete structures.

“The simplest task being done, you’re sweating for it,” said one factory worker, who requested that his identity and place of employment be concealed. He works on average eight hours and acknowledges the afternoon shift is the most hated.

“Every day is hot, everyday just hot. Only time it cool is in the early morning, then it takes time to get hot then the night shift it cool down, but everyday hot — and fan basically just blow back the hot air on you,” he added.

His condition is exacerbated by the lack of adequate ventilation available to him.

“Not where I am. Windows are far from where I am,” he shared with the Jamaica Observer. He has been working in factories for almost 10 years, and he said almost all the factories he’s worked at are the same. “Except one, they had air conditioning [AC] because their machines needed air conditioning.”

According to him, no one really checks on the conditions of the workers. “They do audit, but mostly safety audit,” he said, adding that concerns have been brought to his supervisor.

However, he says even his supervisor suffers from having no AC in his office while working under the heat. Luckily, the warehouse he works at doesn’t require mask wearing.

But for another worker in a warehouse who spoke with the Business Observer and also requested his identity and place of employment be concealed, he said his working condition is slightly different.

“Some place in the factory is kind of dusty, so we have to wear mask and protective gear, which also feel like an extra burden in the heat,” the warehouse employee explained. “We have to rush to go to the fan, the workplace is hot.”

He has been working in factories for over 14 years. While he shares the sentiment that the factories are similar in build, he says some employers do try to help their employees when it gets extremely hot.

“They provide a good amount of fan, just the other day, ’cause them know about the heat so them try to help out. They are trying,” he said about his current employer.

Luckily for him, his new place of employment has more ventilation with adequate windows and an open factory space. He notes, however, that it’s not the same at other factories, including one in which he previously worked.

“My previous workplace was owned by the chiney [Chinese] them, and you couldn’t talk to them because they were all about the dollar — it’s basically just work, work, and they pressure us. It’s hot because it’s a warehouse and most don’t come with AC, if the roof doesn’t come with something to protect the zinc — because that’s where the heat come down, it is stored in the air — and if it doesn’t have that it’s going to be a lot of heat that you have to deal with,” he shared.

Though fans are provided, he still thinks factories could do more given the global conditions.

“More coolers can be put in the factories to keep us cool and more ventilation,” he said.

President of the National Worker’s Union (NWU) Granville Valentine says the concern about heat in factories has been ongoing for years.

“You would believe they would invest in some AC or cooling condition so that the workers can be comfortable. It is something that is the closest to the sweatshop that is spoken of in the past, and it is not conducive to good health and working conditions,” he told the Business Observer. According to Valentine, there are standards in place that ensures a safe and healthy workplace, but when conditions are so hot that workers begin to faint or have any other kinds of ailment due to heat stress, then factory owners must look at those conditions. He also appealed to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to check how factories are made alongside the temperatures that exists, as well as frequent tests of heat and dust.

“Many of these workers are not unionised and are being treated in a sweatshop affair, and as a nation we have a duty and responsibility to ensure that we fix those issues urgently. We [need to] invest more in those factories, many of these factories are just straight concrete wall and zinc, no proper ventilated, no proper cooling processes, so it must be something that we look on because they are humans too,” said Valentine.