UAE | Government
Firms sticking to midday break rule, says official
More than 99 per cent of companies in Abu Dhabi are adhering to the summer midday break rule, a senior official said on Wednesday.
- Staff Report
- Published: 00:03 July 24, 2008
Abu Dhabi: More than 99 per cent of companies in Abu Dhabi are adhering to the summer midday break rule, a senior official said on Wednesday.
"Less than one per cent of companies inspected by the Ministry of Labour from the beginning of July when the midday break rule came into force were found to be in violation," said Mohsen Ali Saeed, director of the inspection department.
As the temperature soared to 45C in Abu Dhabi and humidity reached 60 per cent, officials from the Ministry of Labour and the UAE Red Crescent visited a construction site in the capital to ensure the health and safety of workers.
Some 500 workers were provided with complimentary T-shirts, water and soft drinks. The company was also granted first-aid kits and glucose monitoring systems. The workers said they were grateful for the enforced break, which imposes a ban on outdoor work at construction sites between 12.30pm and 3pm.
The number of violations is significantly lower than figures of previous years, according to Saeed, who added that 25 per cent of the companies inspected in 2005 were found in violation of the rule.
However, the ministry has exempted some activities from the midday break such as concrete-mix pouring (which needs non-stop work for ten hours), work inside buildings like electric and water supply maintenance in buildings and other light activities in the shade.
Labour inspectors made 12,691 checks on companies across the emirate and found that only 75 companies were in violation of the rule.
Although the statistics reveal only three weeks' findings, the director of the inspection department said the number of companies inspected since the beginning of July was more than the number of companies inspected during the full two-month midday break period in previous years.
"Previously we would inspect 7,000 to 8,000 companies during the whole two-month period," he said.
Praising workers at construction sites as "unsung heroes", Dr Saleh Al Taei, secretary-general of the UAE Red Crescent, said doctors and volunteers from the charity organisation tour worksites during the summer midday break to educate workers and ensure their health and safety.
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