The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (MADLSA), every year with advent of summer, specifies the duration and total working hours for outdoor workplaces to protect workers from harsh weather. Earlier this month, the Ministry announced that there should be no work outdoors from 11:30am to 3pm, effective from June 15 to August 31, and the work must not be more than five hours during the day time. As usual the Ministry urged the owners of institutions and companies who are subject to provisions of Labour Law to comply with its decision and the Ministerial Resolution No (16) of 2007 which specifies working hours in exposed/outdoor places during summer from 15 June to 31 August, every year.
Every company in the country knows very well the Ministry conducts field visits to the companies’ sites to ensure that they comply with the provisions of the resolution and enforce the law. Despite these decisions being issued every year by the Ministry, and the law regulating and effective since 2007, some private companies are continuing to violate the law and these decisions every year. This too at the peak of summer when working hours supposed to be enforced by themselves. The Labor Inspection Department of the Ministry found 56 contracting companies violating provisions of the law and they have been punished with three days closure of their worksites.
This was during four days extensive inspection campaigns conducted from June 15 to 18, to ensure companies’ compliance with rules and decisions. Companies are not only violating rules related to summer working hours, but also violate the health precautionary measure taken by the government within the framework of the preventive and precautionary measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. The Ministry has asked the companies to follow measures at workplaces and accommodations to protect workers and reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
But even these are not being respected by private companies. In April, three contracting and construction companies were found violating these health and safety policies and measures, therefore necessary measures were taken against them. As the entire world is struggling to overcome the COVID-19 disease, companies in different sectors are urged to adhere to work hours during the summer in particular in worksites exposed to direct sun or in open workplaces, as these measures are taken to ensure the safety and health of workers and the work environment.
