Workers battle 40degC-plus conditions

Owner of Alexandra's Kebab Time, Ugur Ozkan (left), and chef Abdullah Ozkan battle the heat in the kitchen yesterday. The temperature in the kitchen exceeds 40degC on hot days. Photos: Pam Jones
Owner of Alexandra's Kebab Time, Ugur Ozkan (left), and chef Abdullah Ozkan battle the heat in the kitchen yesterday. The temperature in the kitchen exceeds 40degC on hot days. Photos: Pam Jones
Trents Wholesale Central Otago store woman Sarah Davis keeps cool in the Alexandra Trents freezer.
Trents Wholesale Central Otago store woman Sarah Davis keeps cool in the Alexandra Trents freezer.

Think it's hot in the office?

Spare a thought for chefs, orchard workers and tradies throughout the region yesterday, where some workplace temperatures exceeded 40degC.

In Kebab Time, in Alexandra, the heat from the gas doner kebab machine that cooked the meat was estimated to make the kitchen temperature about 48degC, owner Ugur Ozkan said.

Other kitchen staff, orchard workers and tradespeople were also coping with unofficial temperatures of about 40degC - it reached 39degC on the temperature gauge above the Unichem Alexandra Pharmacy and Bookshop just before 5pm (the official MetService temperature at 5pm was 36degC).

Roofers in particular were known to be facing fierce heat, and orchard owners and managers were reminding orchard and packhouse staff to take regular breaks and consume plenty of fluids.

But at the other end of the spectrum, staff at Trents Wholesale Central Otago in Alexandra were chilling out in a freezer and chiller cooled to -17degC and 1.8degC respectively.

Storewoman Sarah Davis was wearing her standard-issue fleecy lined jacket, and in the morning wore her fleecy overalls as well.

But her sunnies were still perched atop her head for trips outside and smoko breaks.

pam.jones@odt.co.nz

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