The Ministry of Labour has announced that 96.69 percent private companies complied with this summer midday break, raising the level of commitment by the employers more than the past tent years.
It further stated that 77522 facilities were inspected during the period, while the level of uncommitted facilities reached to 147 mounting to 0.31 per cent. 105 thousand and 421 field visits were carried out by the ministry’s inspectional team during the midday break period which started June 15th and ended last Monday September 15th.
77 thousand and 669 visits were carried out to ascertain the level of commitment to the decision while 27 thousand and 752 visits took place to raise the level of awareness amongst these establishments, according to ministry’s statistics.
Mubarak Saeed Al Dhaheri, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, commenting on the analysis pointed out that the level of commitment by the employers has increased when comparing it to the past ten years from launching the ban, which confirms their knowledge about the importance of the decision and its role in providing a healthy work environment which safe and decent for the workers.
“The decision aims at reducing the damages workers’ could get from working under the sun, which will definitely stabilize labour relations and increase productivity in the labour market, especially since the decision embodies the highest standards of occupational health and safety,” he said.
He made it clear that the ministry is very transparent before taking any actions against any establishment, “The penalty is set unless proven otherwise, our inspectors record everything through photographs and video during the banned timings, and if caught, a fine of AED 15000 will be slapped per case,” he said.
The total of 17155 inspectional visits took place in Abu Dhabi and 26608 visits in Dubai, 8186 visits in Sharjah, 10154 In Ajman, 3264 to Ras Al Khaimah, 6038 UAQ and 6117 visits to Fujairah.
On the other hand, Mr. Al Dhaheri pointed out the ministry’s commitment towards awareness and guidance to protect the labourers health and safety condition, all through providing free medical check-ups, educating them on proper means of protection against direct exposure to injuries, as well as the initiatives undertaken by many members of the community each year, which embodies the values of compassion and solidarity in the U.A.E. society.
“The MoL organised 50 awareness lectures about the midday decision that targeted employers and workers, as well as the organized workshops to raise awareness about the decision at labour camps where we’ve distributed tens of thousands of brochures, which included a detailed explanation of the decision and emphasized the importance of commitment towards it,” he said.
It’s worth mentioning that the Midday break stops labourers from working under the sun and in the open areas from 12:30pm till 3:00pm, and urges business owners to provide shaded areas for the workers during their break period and to completely cease work.
Source : WAM News Agency for United Arab Emirates
