JEDDAH, 21 August 2007 — It’s that time of year in Saudi Arabia again: August, the hottest month in a country known for extreme temperatures.

Talking to the daily Asharq Al-Awsat recently, a group of outdoor laborers complained that despite the dangerously high temperatures their employers weren’t instituting any seasonal policies, such as nighttime shifts.

Dulal, a 23-year-old Bangladeshi working at a sewage system, said that his company hasn’t changed the hours of work to reduce the chances of heat-related injuries.

“About 100 of us suffer each day from the heat and the sun,” he said, pointing out that these workers earn a meager salary of about SR375 a month.

Nizamuldeen, a Pakistani worker at the same company, said that things were worse with another employer. He said the company does provide a longer midday break in the summer — two hours — and that they’re paid for their overtime, which is required by law even though his previous employer refused to comply with overtime regulations. This, he says, makes working for his current employer, and the heat, more tolerable.

Ghanim Al-Salih, a 20-year-old Syrian, said that he has been working for six years decorating buildings. “I work from seven in the morning all the way to five in the afternoon. We get one hour lunch break at 12,” he said.

Al-Salih also said that they have asked the company they worked for to let them work at night but they refused.

At another location a number of workers were busy putting the final touches on a restaurant. They said that they have been working in the location for five months now and nothing in their working hours have changed.

“It’s difficult working in the heat,” said one of them. “Our employer does not allow us to work during night.”

“Unfortunately we don’t get overtime,” said another worker.

Ismail Husain, a 52-year-old Syrian who supervises a group of workers in a sewage project, defended the company by saying that they give their workers two hours break in the summer: from 12 noon to 2 p.m.

“It’s dangerous to let them work at night, sometimes they have to dig deep — besides it annoys people in the neighborhood,” said Husain.

According to Saudi law, workers are supposed to stay out of working in the sun between 12:30 and 3 p.m. Bahrain has also ordered a similar midday summertime break: from 12 to four.

The Saudi National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has urged the Ministry of Labor to strictly enforce the law on summertime work breaks.