The Ministry of Labor recently imposed fines on nine companies in the Eastern Province for violating decrees on working hours for laborers during the hot summer season.
“Fines varying between SR3,000 and SR10,000 have been imposed on five companies in the fields of contracting and maintenance in Al-Ahsa, three in Khafji and one in Abqaiq,” said Director General of the ministry’s Eastern Province branch Muhammad Al-Manna.
The ministry’s office has dispatched field inspection teams to ensure that companies do not violate the labor regulation, which stipulates that laborers are not to work from noon until 3 p.m., Al-Manna said.
“The ministry has been prompted by humanitarian considerations to issue the order that companies should regulate their field work during the hot summer season beginning July 1 until Aug. 30,” he said.
The regulations issued by the ministry governing summer working hours also stipulate that violating companies should be fined between SR3,000 and SR10,000. In the event a company repeatedly violates the order, the punishment would include a fine and the temporary closure, pending further charges depending on the severity of the violation.
He pointed out that all chambers of commerce and industry in the Kingdom’s main cities have been provided with copies of the ministry’s orders concerning the ban on work during the hottest hours of the day. A member of the Contractors Committee at the Asharqia Chamber of Commerce and Industry Saad Al-Wohaibi said the ban is in the interest of both the laborer and his employer.
“While working under the hot sun is injurious to a worker’s health, an employer profits from a worker’s better output during the morning or evening hours,” Al-Wohaibi said.
He said more than 24,000 contracting and maintenance companies in the province have stopped working in extreme hot weather and rearranged the working hours in line with the ministry’s summer directives.
He also wanted punishments handed to violators who have scant regard for workers’ health and flout the ministry’s order.
Companies fined for violating midday work ban
