Subsidy faces heat as mercury increases across the country

A tourist wears an umbrella hat to provide some shade while visiting the Beijing National Stadium on Sunday. WANG JING/CHINA DAILY

With the thermometer climbing all the way to 40 C in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong provinces, questions related to subsidies for high temperatures are on the rise as well.

High-temperature subsidies are often distributed to workers exposed to outdoor temperatures above 35 C, as well as those who work indoors in temperatures higher than 33 C.

Labor authorities are responsible for setting local subsidy standards.

So far, 28 provinces, cities and regions have set standards this summer. In Jiangxi province, the subsidy is 240 yuan ($38) a month. Employees can get the subsidy from June to September.

Despite urging from the central government to fully implement high-temperature subsidies, many employers said they don't have such subsidies.

In an online poll by forum.xinhuanet.com, more than 93 percent of respondents said they didn't receive high-temperature subsidies. More than 4 percent said they would receive it later while just over 2 percent said they already get the money.

A staff member with a branch company of SINOPEC, who asked to be identified by his surname Liu, said their high-temperature subsidy has been cut for the last two years.

An employee from Ningbo, Zhejiang province, who refused to be identified, said that every year he could only get beverages instead of cash.

Zhang Hui, from an advertising company based in Shanghai, said she gets high-temperature subsidies every year, although the standard needs to be adjusted.

"The average temperature surpasses 35 C, and sometimes we have many days with the temperature above 40 C," said Zhang. "However, we can still get only 200 yuan per month from June to September."

"Many provinces and regions didn't adjust their standards for years. This does not go with the economic situation."

Shandong province still uses the standard drafted in 2006 that provides 120 yuan per month for outdoor workers.