Ramadan hours rule being flouted

The Labour Ministry has not sent out investigators to check if companies are making workers spend more than six hours a day on the job in Ramadan, a labour official said.

Gulf News received numerous complaints from employees stating their companies ignore the six-hour work limit during the Holy Month.

No formal complaints about people working extra hours have been made at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

During Ramadan, all workers Muslim and non-Muslim may only work six hours a day, not including a maximum of two hours' overtime.

No labour inspectors have been mandated to check whether companies are abiding by the law, which is only valid during Ramadan, said a long-serving labour official.

"There's been no inspections specifically for this," said Abdullah Saif, from the Investigation Department.

"We haven't even received a complaint, which would normally oblige us to carry out an inspection."

Saif said companies were aware of the special Ramadan hours.

"Every year the Ministry releases notification a few days before Ramadan to all the newspapers and it's also broadcast on the radio."

Workers have not made formal complaints to the Ministry, possibly fearing reprisals at work.

One reader wrote that employees are suffering as a consequence and cannot speak out for fear of losing their jobs.

Readers targeted the health and hospitality industry in particular for violating the law.

A senior public hospital official confirmed non-Muslims were working more than six hours a day.

The official, who declined to be named, said hospitals staffed through the Department of Health and Medical Services (Dohms) would be short staffed if non-Muslims only worked six hours a day.

"They are needed and whoever works the extra hours will be paid for it," he said. The Rashid Hospital spokesperson said many of the non-Muslims come in for work after 7pm for the overnight shift.

Labourers, too, may only work a maximum of eight hours a day during Ramadan.

Dr Ahmad Saif Belhasa, head of the UAE Contractors Association, said construction companies were not above the law.

"Every construction company has formal hours to follow, after that it must pay overtime, according to the needs of the project.

"Construction companies are not independent entities, so they must follow the labour laws of the land," he said.