"With immediate effect and until August 31, work in conditions of prolonged exposure to the sun is prohibited, from 12:30 to 16:00, throughout the regional territory in the areas or zones affected by work in the agricultural, floricultural and construction sectors". This was established by an ordinance of the President of the Region, Alessandra Todde, who limits the provision "only to days in which the "risk map" referring to 12 o'clock, published on the web page https://www.worklimate.it/scelta-mappa/sole-attivita-fisica-alta/ , indicates a "high" risk level".
The unions' request, which had launched an appeal for a generalized ordinance to block afternoon activities in construction sites and fields during the hottest hours of the day, was only partially accepted.
The governor's order refers to the project "curated by the National Research Council in collaboration with Inail", which has allowed the preparation of a "heat alert system specific for the employment sector, accompanied by national maps for predicting the risk of exposure to heat, in order to contain the risk of exposure of workers".
The ordinance, however, does not concern "public administrations, public service concessionaires and their contractors, when it comes to interventions of public utility, civil protection or safeguarding of public safety, including the Forestas Agency".
The president of the agricultural studies center, Tore Piana, comments: "While understanding the need for the measure to protect workers' health, this provision represents a further inconvenience for the already tested agricultural sector, which is facing serious structural difficulties and chronic delays in the payments of European funds and hit by the numerous fires of recent days. We need a structural strategy and not just an emergency one", concludes Piana, "to truly support Sardinian agriculture".
