Shanghai's Labor Inspection Team is fanning out across town to make sure employees aren't overworked during the hot weather.

The stepped-up inspection campaign begins today with a focus on labor-intensive firms, open-air work sites, beverage manufacturing companies and other seasonal businesses.

Some 2,500 labor inspection assistants will check whether companies are extending work hours illegally or are paying their employees improperly, officials said.

"The scorching weather has already caused workers to suffer, and companies must fully comply with the city government's regulation to protect employee labor rights," said Lu Tingfei, a publicity official with the labor team.

No reports of injuries have been confirmed, however.     

On Wednesday, the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau teamed up with five other city government departments to rule that companies, especially those operating under high-temperature conditions, could shorten working hours when the temperature reaches 35 degrees Celsius.

On days when the mercury hits 38 degrees, companies are now allowed to give their employees a day off unless they're involved in essential public services.

Companies have also been told to improve ventilation, take other heat-reducing measures and ensure an adequate drinking water supply to reduce heat-related illness.

Some firms found themselves in trouble even before the formal campaign began.     

On Wednesday morning, inspection officials discovered that a garment manufacturing factory in suburban Minhang District forced more than 60 employees to work from 8 AM to 9 PM every day since April.

"Even on the 39-degree day, we had to work more than 13 hours with only a one-hour dinner break," said an Anhui Province native worker surnamed Huang, adding that she and her colleagues were given no more than three days off each month and were paid a flat piece-rate scale.

The city caps work hours at eight hours a day, five days a week. Overtime pay amounted to 150 percent of the normal rate is required for any additional hours, and no more than three hours of overtime are allowed each day.

(Shanghai Daily July 8, 2005)