Ministry checks ensure outdoors work breaks

Mandatory mid-day breaks banning work under direct sunlight between 12.30pm and 3.30pm started on June 1 and continue until August 31

MUSCAT: Inspectors from the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) are checking work sites on a daily basis to ensure full compliance with the mid-day break rule for labourers, a senior official at the ministry said.

Mandatory mid-day breaks that ban any work under direct sunlight between 12.30pm and 3.30pm started on June 1 and will continue until August 31. “Our team is taking immediate action as per the law in case of any viola- tion,” the official said. He refused to divulge the number of companies fined since the mid-day break started this year. “The figures are not ready,” he said.

The mid-day break is announced every year in accordance with Article 16 of the Oman Labour Law for occupational safety and health regulations, which states that workers must not work at construction sites or in open and elevated areas from 12:30pm to 3:30pm during June, July and August.

“This ministerial decision was put in place to protect workers from the scorching heat during the summer, where the temperature is often crossing 45 degrees,” the official said.

Meanwhile, more than 336 labour law violations were recorded last week, according to MoM. During June 4 to June 10, MoM’s labour inspection team found 336 instances of violation of the Labour Law.

Of these cases, 237 involved commercial workers, 57 were agricultural workers, and 42 were domestic workers.