Have mercy on workers in the hot weather

With the temperature soaring to 45 degrees Celsius at noon during normal days — not during the holy month of Ramadhan — it becomes extremely difficult, even dangerous, in the burning heat. Then how will labourers work in the open during the month of Ramadhan (when Muslims fast during the day)?

Raising this concern, we urge employers not to ask labourers to work at noon during the holy month.

The employers can adjust the work hours to be between iftar (fast breaking) and suhour (the last meal before fasting starts for the day), as there are no regulations in this regard.

This should be seen as a humanitarian request. We hope employers heed this call and have mercy and compassion on those who are destined to work in the open in this month of forgiveness.

Those employers who heed this request will have their reward in heaven as we all know the month of Ramadhan is the time for doing good and noble deeds that would be rewarded in afterlife.

Despite the warnings issued by authorities, many employers have desisted from asking labourers to work between 12 noon and 3 pm.

Despite warnings from the International Labour Organisation against subjecting labourers to the harmful sunrays during these hours, some of them continue to violate these directives.

Since employers should be concerned about the health and well-being of labourers who are necessary for the continued growth of businesses and growth of this nation, have mercy upon the human, whom Allah dignified in his Holy Quran.

When we drive past work sites in our air-conditioned cars, we are witness to the agonising scenes that tug at our consciousness.

We see labourers working in the hot sun in temperatures that hovers between 45 and 50 degrees Celsius.

We must stand up against all violators of labour rights and immediately inform the labour authorities to ensure such violations do not go unnoticed.

The ugly reality is that most of these companies are managed by “hidden trade” foreigners, who are brutal to workers in order to achieve personal profits.

And they give the guarantors little money to exploit the conditions of labourers under them, forcing them to work under harsh conditions.

We hope they stop risking labourers’ lives and abide by the terms and conditions laid down by the authorities and through ministerial directives that have been mentioned here, and honestly seek the blessings of God Almighty.