60 work sites shut for flouting summer hours
Sixty work sites were temporarily closed last month for violating the rule regarding summer working hours in open places, the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs said.
Mohammed Al Meer, Director of the Inspection Department at the ministry, said in a video message posted on Snapchat that the ministry has intensified inspections at all work sites across the country to ensure the companies comply with the rule.
“We’ve been conducting regular inspections at work sites to make sure they (the companies) abide by the ministerial decision No. 16 of 2007 regulating summer working hours in open places,” said Al Meer.
“Work sites violating the rule can face closure for up to one month. Last month, we shut down 60 work sites for violating the rule. The closure was enforced by a ministerial decision,” he added.
The summer working hours are in force from June 15 to August 31 every year to protect workers from being exposed to sun and extreme heat. The morning shift in open work sites should not go beyond 11.30am, with a maximum five hours.
Workers should be given a minimum two-and-a-half hours noon break and work should not resume before 3pm. With the soaring temperatures, several cases of heat stroke have been reported from different areas in Qatar.
The Ministry of Public Health recently warned companies that they will be held accountable for heat stroke cases among their workers based on cases referred to the emergency unit at Hamad Medical Corporation.
The Ministry of Labour, Development Planning and Social Affairs has brought in more inspectors, including 50 women, as it has intensified vigil on all work sites since the beginning of summer, Al Sharq reported. This takes the total number of inspectors to 380.
The inspectors have been trained by local and international experts. The ministry conducts 4,500 to 5,000 inspections every month. Women inspectors are deployed in places employing women.
Violation of the rule regarding summer working hours could also result in cancellation of licences of senior officials of the company and even blacklisting of the erring firms, said the daily.
Apart from checking violations of the rule regarding summer working hours, the inspectors also catch unlicensed workers being employed by companies. They also inspect whether the companies comply with the rules regarding provision of medical care at work sites.
Courtesy: thepeninsulaqatar.com
This is a good observation - especially those that wash in car parks where heat is unbearable
they should start looking at the cleaning workers in the parking lots. they are humans too.
I wonder if the companies were fined for flouting the laws ?
Well done to the inspectors
Many of the construction campany using workers and make them suffering... delay for salary.. no proper accommodation.. no Air conditioning for transport...and when they have to pay them they will cut same money for not proper reason.
alaways remember the happy employers produce more.