Safety regulations flouted at Dubai work place

I would like to point out that despite strict rules and regulations clearly laid out by the Dubai Municipality for safety precautions to be taken when working at dangerous heights, some contractors blatantly violate all such precautions. They subject the workers to potential hazards.

These pictures are of a construction site at Al Nahda 2. Two tower crane mechanics are seen walking on the crane boom at a height of about 20 metres without any fall prevention systems such as a full body harness or safety net.

There were two men working on this crane for more than three hours and any hazards like a minor slip or heat exhaustion could have resulted in these men falling down to their instant deaths.

What was worse was that there were a few gentlemen, who looked like site engineers, strolling right under the crane without any hard hats.

I urge authorities to step up their surveillance visits to sites such as this one. They need to ensure that site engineers and project managers are penalised for letting such extremely unsafe working conditions and behaviour for the sake of saving money on safety equipment.

This reader is a manager in Dubai

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