2,500 companies fined for Dubai safety violations

SAFTEY CODE: 2,500 companies in Dubai were fined for safety violations on construction sites during 2008. (Getty Images)

More than 2,500 companies have been fined for construction site safety violations in Dubai in the past year, a top official has revealed.

Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality, said that inspectors made some 27,232 inspection visits during the day time to construction sites last year while 1,771 inspections were carried out during night.

The checks indicated a 75 percent compliance by contracting firms but 2,508 fines were issued for safety code violations.

WAM DUBAI, Mar. 9th, 2009: has underscored the civic body's keenness on enhancing occupational safety in the emirate by strictly enforcing the pertinent rules and regulations.

The figures were announced as Lootah commented at the launch of the Construction and Occupational Safety Week, under the banner "Safety: Our Road to Sustainability", news agency WAM reported.

Lootah added: "We have enacted a set of legislation including local orders, technical guidelines and codes with the objective of ensuring safety of some 800,000 labourers who working in around 8,000 construction sites in and around Dubai.

"More recently, a code of construction safety practice has been issued by adding several new measures aimed at protecting the workers and all people involved."

Redha Salman, director of Public Health and Safety Department, said the municipal inspectors had also carried out random checks at hotels, industrial establishments, toy shops and other public places to ensure safety of the public.

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