Kuwait: Labourers will not work outdoors between 11am and 4pm

Kuwait City: As scorching summer begins in Kuwait, the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) announced that starting from today (June 1) until August 31 all workers will be barred from working outdoors between 11am and 4pm to avoid being under the direct sun and heat.

The timings and dates are as per the 2015 ministerial law 535, which prohibits employees from working under the sun during that time.

The decision applies to all workers from street cleaners and construction workers to delivery men on motorcycles.

The PAM called on the public to send complaints if they saw any labourers working during those hours and to hold the company or employer legally responsible.

Every year, worker unions and human rights organisations report several cases of workers suffering sun strokes and sometimes a number of deaths due to extreme sun exposure.

Kuwait has not set a temperature limit for labourers; rather they have barred workers from working during the day time for three months.

The temperature in Kuwait during the summer times ranges between 40 to 50 degrees Celsius. Sometimes, during July and August, the temperature goes up to 55 degrees, on extremely hot days.