Dubai sees 61 mid-day break violations so far

The Permanent Committee for Labour Affairs in Dubai has said that the number of companies violating the rule is 61 so far in 2010.

The mid-day break rule, introduced in 2005 for construction staff, working outdoors was extended by a month to run into September starting this year. According to the order that was issued by Saqr Ghobash, the Minister of Labour, all work under the sun  must stop for two and half hours starting at 12.30pm.

According to a Wam statement the committee has so far inspected 2399 facilities, of which 2338 sites were complying with the order.

“Fines are being recommended on all companies found violating the rule. We recommend the names to the Labour department and they are in-charge of collecting the fine,” said one of the official overseeing the inspection.

The team is headed by Brigadier Mohamed Al-Marri, chairman of the committee said 15 inspectors visited the workplaces and sites to ensure compliance of employers with the mandatory break for workers, which runs until September 15, and is aimed at keeping labourers out of the sun during the hottest hours between 12.30-3pm.

Last month Mohsin Al Nasa, Director of the Inspection Department in Abu Dhabi, had reported an increase in the number of companies complying with the midday break rule.

The labour inspection department at the Ministry of Labour carried out 14,040 inspection to 13,845 companies and found that only 195 were violating the rule.

Violating companies could be fined between Dh10,000 to Dh30,000 based and abrred from obtaining new work permits for almost one year.