Gulf | Bahrain
Contractors oppose midday break rule
A decision by the Bahraini government to impose a midday break for labourers is being resisted by the local construction contractors who claim that it would cost the economy millions of dinars.
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 20:51 June 27, 2007
Manama: A decision by the Bahraini government to impose a midday break for labourers is being resisted by the local construction contractors who claim that it would cost the economy millions of dinars.
"The midday four-hour break during the months of July and August will lead to huge losses amounting to millions of dinars," Hussain Al Mahdi, the secretary-general of the Contractors' Society, yesterday said in a statement to the press.
The government on Sunday announced the suspension of construction work in the soaring summer temperatures from noon to 4pm for humanitarian reasons. On Monday, Labour Minister Majeed Al Alawi said that no labourer should be made to work more than five hours in the morning and that work in excess of eight hours daily should be considered as overtime.
Massive construction
But the Contractors' Society said that the ministry had failed to consult with them on the issue before the announcement of the decision affecting them. "The ministry did not check with us ... while it was preparing the midday break decision, even though the number of cases where labourers suffered from heat exhaustion is very limited and did not necessitate hospitalisation," Al Mahdi said.
The society said that the decision would also affect the development of massive construction projects undertaken in Bahrain "where non-stop work is needed in order to meet deadlines," he said. However, the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI) said that thousands of labourers suffered from work-related injuries in 2005, mainly between noon and 1pm under the blazing sun.
"We have had many cases of sunstroke and several labourers suffered partial and even full paralysis. We ... hope that the government's decision would address this deplorable and sad situation," a GOSI official in charge of compensation said in a statement published in Al Ayam newspaper.
According to GOSI, more than 80,000 expatriates, mainly Asians, work in the construction field. Most of them earn less than 100 dinars (Dh974) a month, while 20,000 labourers earn less than 50 dinars (Dh487) a month.
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