Mid-day break rule for workers in Oman ends

Mid-day break was announced in accordance with Article 16 of occupational safety and health rules

MUSCAT: Mid-day breaks for workers in Oman officially ended yesterday, according to a ministry spokesman

The mid-day break was announced in accordance with Article 16 of occupational safety and health regulations, which state that workers must not work at construction sites or in open and elevated areas from 12:30pm to 3:30pm during the June 1 to August 31 period.

According to the ministry’s data uploaded on its official Twitter handle, the ministry fined 170 companies for violating rules from June 1 to July 10, during 1,376 inspections.

“The final data of violations for the three months is being tabulated. It will be made available soon,” the official said.

In 2015, 391 companies were warned by the ministry for violat- ing the mid-day break rule for outdoor workers in Oman, which included 138 businesses in Amerat, 122 in Seeb, 98 in Bausher and 33 in Muttrah.

According to the Article 118 of the Oman Labour Law, violators can be penalised with fines ranging from OMR100 to OMR500, or a jail term of not more than one month, or both. The penalty is doubled for repeat violations.

Meanwhile, Oman’s Meteorology Department said the temperature in Oman is hovering around 45 degrees Celsius.