829 firms fail to comply with midday work ban

829 firms fail to comply with midday work ban
NO RESPITE: Asian laborers work at the construction site of a building in Riyadh under a scorching sun. (Reuters)
Updated 04 August 2016
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829 firms fail to comply with midday work ban

829 firms fail to comply with midday work ban

RIYADH: The Ministry of Labor and Social Development has detected over 900 violations relating to midday work ban since the launch of restriction on June 15.
Fahad Al-Owaidi, deputy minister for inspection and development of work environment at the ministry, said that 829 establishments have failed to comply with the regulation with 966 violations registered by inspection teams.
He said the ministry would spare no effort to implement work ban under the hot sun from noon until 3 p.m. so as to protect the safety and health of workers in the private sector as well as install the proper work environment keeping in view the related standards.
Employers must take necessary measures to prevent workers from any harm under a government decision that prohibits “work under the direct sun from noon to 3 p.m. during the period from June 15 to Sept. 15 of every year on the Gregorian calendar.” According to the ministry, the oil and gas workers as well as maintenance workers who do emergency duty have been exempted from the regulation, provided measures are taken to protect them from the effects of scorching sun.
The exemption has been restricted to some parts of the Kingdom, which do not encounter such extremely hot weather, Al-Owaidi said.