PHOENIX – Earlier this year, the Phoenix City Council passed a heat ordinance that increases protections for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport employees during times of extreme heat.

On Tuesday, however, workers, safety officials, managers and others raised further concerns even as the heat order remains in effect, saying there has been little improvement in worker protections.

Cecilia Ortiz, an airport worker, claimed her employer had introduced new policies that did not allow employees to sit down.

“Just recently, one of my colleagues came to me and said he had received a squatting notice,” she told ABC15.

Prospect Airport Services, a company that contracts airport staff, said all employees whose duties involve working outdoors would be given extra breaks as well as unlimited water, Gatorade and popsicles.

In a statement to ABC15, a company spokesperson wrote: “No employee was reprimanded for ‘squatting,’ but they were told that for their own safety and the safety of those around them, they were not allowed to sit in a wheelchair on the jetway.”

City Councilwoman Betty Guardado, who attended the rally, announced that she would write a letter to airport workers’ employers and companies asking them to implement safety plans.