Laborers want midday work ban to start now

Construction workers and employees who labor outdoors are calling for the midday work ban to take effect earlier due to extreme temperatures that have scourged the Kingdom since early last week.
The Ministry of Labor introduced the midday work ban in 2011 from 12 noon to 3 pm., beginning July 1 through Aug. 31, to protect the Kingdom’s workers from the summer heat. However, workers have expressed that these measures are insufficient in the face of the extreme heat.
“Even in the morning around 9:30 a.m. or 10 a.m., it is already over 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), which are dangerous conditions to work in. I think it is unacceptable for business owners to expect us to work in such conditions merely to make a living and care for our family back home,” Iftikar Muhammed, an Indian construction worker in Jeddah, told Arab News.
He said that he saw two of his fellow workers suffer from heat-related illness last week. “When this happens, we have no choice but to stop working and rest or in drastic cases go to the hospital. This will inherently backfire and delay the work of construction companies. I think it would be better for workers to commence work at later hours when it is cooler or to simply extend the midday work ban from noon to 5 p.m., beginning June 1. However, most business owners won’t agree to these conditions,” Muhammed said.
Since the ban has been in effect, some business owners have ignored it altogether.
“I remember last year, the management made us work all day regardless of the ban because the company was behind schedule on the project and did not want to face penalties. We reported the company to the Ministry of Labor, to no avail,” Aatish P, another Indian construction worker, said, adding that he hopes this year won’t be the same.
Due to the massive number of complaints it received last year, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) filed a petition to the Labor Ministry requesting that they enforce the midday work ban.
“We discussed numerous complaints received from workers to Labor Ministry officials regarding companies disregarding the stipulated hours of work during the hottest months of the year. We urged them to enforce the ban,” Muflah Al-Qatani, president of the National Society of Human Rights (NSHR), told Arab News in a previous interview, adding that the rights group is continuously monitoring the situation.
According to regulations stipulated by the Ministry of Labor, any company found in violation of the ban could face fines of up to SR 10,000 per worker or in some cases could face closure for 30 days. Laborers forced to work in the heat during banned hours are encouraged to register complaints at [phone] or to visit the NSHR website at www.nshr.org.sa.